Blood Under the Bridge (OLD!)
by DemonWolf37
Summary: Alfred moves to England for work, but falls for a very strange man named Arthur. Matt has always been a good judge of character- and the one who decides who Alfred is allowed to date, but what of Arthur? It's been years since Arthur let someone into his life, let alone his heart, but Alfred may be just the one to help Arthur move on from the past. VampireUK Lemon Non-con USUK UKUS
1. Chapter 1

**((Okay, so I know the LAST thing I should be working on is a NEW story, but quite frankly I've been so obsessed with this idea for so long that I've lost all motivation for everything else. And with school coming back tomorrow, I know that I need to motivate myself to do something or it might be months before I write anything. On a side note, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and New Years. Once I figure out how to install Dragon on my crappy computer, I should be able dictate these chapters and get them out more quickly. Anyway, enjoy the sappy vampire story. I might write a prequel to this if it goes over well enough, going over Arthur's past. Specifically a certain thing you'll learn about much, much later. I'll put it in the author's notes once we get there.))**

"Hey, Matt, thanks for coming with me!" Alfred called back to his brother who was tugging both of their suitcases through the crowded London airport, "I would have died if I had to do this alone."

"Are you joking? Mother would have never let you go if I didn't come with. And yes, you would have died. You always sticking your nose were it doesn't belong and always looking for trouble."

"What can I say, I'm a curious person. Anyway, have you called a cab yet?"

"Not yet," Matthew set down one of the suitcases to get out his phone, "Get the rest of our bags from the carousal, we shouldn't have to wait too long."

"Kay!" he shouted as he jogged off towards the baggage claim. It didn't take long for their three bags to come around allowing Alfred to pick them up. All things considered, they had packed pretty lightly. This wasn't some two-week trip across the pond. They were full-on moving to London, and that required a bit more packing than a simple trip.

Alfred jogged back to where Matthew was standing, surprisingly quick despite the three larger bags, each weighing precisely 50 pounds and absolutely no more than, that he was tugging behind him.

"Is the cab coming to pick us up?"

"Yeah, they'll be here in a minute. It's still a forty minute drive though."

"Ugh…"  
"Oh, that reminds me, did you contact the people you're going to be working for yet?"

"Oh, yeah, they said they can have me start as soon as next week. They have a few jobs lined up and everything!"

"Good," Matthew said as the cab pulled up, "Not much time to settle in first, but we'll need to start making money as soon as possible."

The two loaded their luggage into the trunk of the cab and shoved the bags that didn't fit in next to them. Matthew confirmed their destination with the driver and they were off down the streets of London.

"Did you ever find a place to work, Matt?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to apply as a part-time cashier at the supermarket down the street from our flat."

"Only part-time?"

"I plan on doing some work from home as well. Nothing much, really."

The two kept quiet for the majority of the drive. Alfred still couldn't get over the fact that they were driving on the "wrong" side of the road. The clouds had been growing darker and darker, and soon it started drizzling lightly.

"Welcome to England…" Matthew muttered quietly as they drove on, "The weather will take some getting used to, huh, Alfred?"

But Alfred wasn't paying attention anymore. Or at least, if he were paying attention, he didn't show it as he shouted out,

"Stop the car!"

The car screeched to a rather sudden and ungraceful halt, and Alfred jumped out into the rain.

"What the hell, Alfred?"

"There's a playground!"

"It's nine at night and it's raining!"

"So what? Playground! I'll catch up to you later. I remember the address and everything." Matthew shot him a look. "337 Baker Street. Right down the street from the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Trust me; I'll be able to find it."

"If you get yourself into trouble-"

"Dude, I'll be fine!" And with that, Alfred darted across the street haphazardly and started playing on the playground like a five-year-old. Matthew just sighed and told the cabbie to drive on.

After thoroughly soaking his trousers on the slide a few times, Alfred took to swinging on the swing and jumping off into the mud. Matt would kill him when he got home, but he was having too much fun to worry about that at the moment… or the fact that he wasn't the only one in the park anymore.

After a few more swings, he jumped off again, this time slipping and falling on his bum for maybe the fifth time. He got back up, dusted himself off a bit, and turned around to get back on the swing. But he paused in his actions, as there was a figure watching him from across the park, in the light shadow of a tree.

"Hey!" he shouted as he waved the figure over.

The figure didn't move, and looked slowly to the side to see if there was possibly someone else in the old park. There wasn't.

"Yeah, you. Come over here!"

The figure narrowed its eyes a bit, but nonetheless stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to be a young man with soaking blond hair, light green eyes, and a pale complexion. He wore a long black coat which seemed rather old, but well taken care of despite its age.

"What are you doing standing out in the rain?" the American called out.

"I could ask the same of you," the blond Brit replied easily.

"Yeah, but I asked first. And besides, it should be pretty obvious what I'm doing," he laughed, gesturing to the swing set.

"Getting terribly filthy so that you'll be scolded thoroughly by your mum when you get home?"

"Nah, my mom didn't even come with us to England. My brother might have a few words with me though," he laughed.

"So… You're just visiting then?"

"Nope, we just moved in today! Well, Matt did anyway. I've been here goofing off and avoiding unpacking."

"Fresh off the plane then…"

"Yep! Got any tips for living here?"

"Hmmm…" the blond Brit seemed to think about it for a while, "Don't stay out too late. The crime may not be nearly as bad as in America, but you never know who's out there. Maybe the next 'Jack the Ripper…' "

"You sound like my brother," Alfred laughed, "And you never answered my question, remember?"

"I do. I'm just out for a walk."

"In the rain?" Alfred laughed.

"When one lives in England, one learns that if you have intentions of going on a walk, it's best to do it when it's only raining _lightly_."

"Ha. I'll try to remember that. M' name's Alfred, by the way. Alfred F. Jones." Alfred stuck out his hand as if the man were close enough to shake it. Instead he just got a look.

"I was serious about not staying out too late, Alfred." The man narrowed his eyes, "You're liable to get yourself into trouble."

And without another word, the man went off to continue his walk in the rain.

* * *

It was another twenty minutes before Alfred to finally leave the park. It was half past ten already, but he figured he couldn't be too far away from the flat at this point. He marched onward through the rain in the direction the cab had gone.

Although, it would seem that Alfred's "friend" from earlier had been right about not staying out after dark, as a small group of three had begun to follow him.

Now, Alfred was a strong enough man. But deliberately picking a fight with three men almost his size was just asking for it. So Alfred kept walking.

One thing that Alfred didn't know about England, and had somehow not noticed while he was being driven through her streets, was that it wasn't laid out like American cities. In big square, easy to navigate blocks in a grid. The streets of London twisted and curved. They were easy enough to navigate if you knew them. But to Alfred, who'd never set foot outside of America until the day he moved, they were a nightmare.

He found himself several times ducking in and out of dead end alleyways, trying to hurry along, but only getting himself more and more lost as the trio grew closer and closer.

He tried another road, finding it, once again, lead in the opposite direction he was headed. But the three were getting a bit too close for Alfred's comfort and he darted down the street anyway.

As soon as the hunt became a chase, the three ran close behind, and easily cornered the little lost American in one of the dead-ends nearby. But they weren't the only things following him…

Alfred might be able to take them… Maybe if he was lucky, they were actually wimps and he'd be on his way in a moment. But one of them pulled out a knife. _Shit… _

"Since you're clearly not from around here, I'll make this simple. Hand over your wallet and we'll let you go."

Alfred didn't move a muscle.

"Just take out your wallet, toss it over here, and we leave. Simple as that. Unless," the man held up the knife and took a step forward, "you _want_ it to get complicated."

"S-stay back! I'm… I'm American!" Alfred shouted at them as if it were a threat.

"Then you should know how this works." The man took another step forward. Alfred checked for an escape route; there wasn't one. The man took more steps, steadily coming at him. Alfred had to be ready for a fight. The others were closing in too. Oh, god, he really was going to die here…

Alfred shakily put up his fists. If he was going to go out, he was going to go out with a fight. The man with the knife was half a metre away. God, the chubby one had a knife too… Alfred's eyes darted to the other one; he was way too distracted to put up a decent fight. They looked like they were going to kill him…

Two hands wrapped around the chubby one's neck and twisted.

Alfred let in a panicked gasp.

There was the sound of a large body hitting the ground, and then it was silent. The first man slashed at Alfred with his knife- seemingly unaware of his companion's attack- easily catching Alfred's arm with the sharp tool.

The other one was all too aware of their companion's attack, as he was next in line… Alfred's "friend" from before was there. He easily ducked a crude punch from the other and instead twisted the man's wrist causing him to scream out loudly.

Finally the knife man turned around, just long enough for Alfred to kick him in the balls. He groaned loudly, but didn't fall over. Instead, he spun back around and captured Alfred in a headlock, knife resting dangerously close to his throat.

"Make a move and I slit his throat!" he shouted.

The blond man held an annoyed (or possibly bored) expression on his face as he considered this. He glanced slowly between the man and Alfred, weighing his options. After a moment, he noticed the body at his feet and kicked it lightly. It didn't move. The blond grunted in frustration.

"Please don't kill me!" Alfred suddenly burst out to the man with the knife, "I kinda like being alive!"

" 'Kinda'? Yes, surely that will keep the depraved maniac from slitting your throat." The blond said, almost amused.

"Watch it, blondie," the 'depraved maniac' said, moving the knife centimetre closer to Alfred's throat.

'Blondie' sighed in defeat and reached into his pocket, pulling out an older looking wallet. He pulled out a single bill.

"Just take it and go."

The man glanced at quickly before shoving Alfred to the side and dashing off, snatching the bill along the way. The blond looked back inside his wallet.

"I just gave him fifty pounds…" he said in disbelief, "Fifty bloody pounds… I meant to give him ten- oof!"

Alfred glomped him, forcing the other to take several large steps back to avoid falling.

"OhMyGoshThatWasSoScaryITotallyThoughtIWasGoingToDieThankYouThankYouThankYou!"

"Yeah, yeah, get off of me already," the blond growled, shoving the other off of him. His green eyes met Alfred's sky blues. For a moment, Alfred thought he saw some sort of emotion on the other's face, but he spun around suddenly.

"Sorry… I just really thought I was gonna die…"

"Why didn't you just give them your bloody wallet?" the blond said after a moment

"I, uh… don't have any money… And I sure as hell wasn't going to give them my passport!"

"Whatever. Just go home and wrap up that cut or something."

"Uh… I'm kinda lost."

"Fine," he sighed after a long moment, "Where do you live?"

"Um, down the street from the Sherlock Holmes Museum."

The other blond started walking off, presumably in the direction of said museum. Alfred followed behind at a reasonable distance, pausing as he passed by the collapsed body on the ground.

"Uh… is he… ya know…?"

"Dead? Yes," the other said without pausing, "probably…"

Alfred gulped as he quickly darted past the body. How could this guy be so nonchalant about killing a guy…? It was kinda creepy…

"Should we call the police or something?"

The other blond didn't say anything.

"Hehe… One thing's for sure, I'm definitely not telling my brother about this…" Alfred said nervously, hoping to change topics, "He probably wouldn't let me out of his sight for the next year."

The other still kept silent. Quite frankly, it was making Alfred nervous.

"Oh… I, uh, never caught your name." Alfred was hoping this time he'd at least get a response. It wasn't proving likely. The other sighed.

"Arthur… Arthur Kirkland."

"It's nice to meet you, Arthur… Properly this time."

Arthur didn't say anything, but let out a sharp sigh. Gee, this guy sure did love to sigh it seemed.

It was a fairly long walk later, but they finally reached the museum. Alfred checked each of the doors for the numbers 337. He let out a sigh of relief when he finally found it. He looked back at Arthur who was still standing in the road, hands in his pockets, a light puff of air escaping his lips every so often. _God, he's beautiful…_ Alfred shook the distracting thought from his head.

"This is it. Do you, uh, wanna come inside?" Alfred asked on impulse, just hoping to keep the beautiful man with him a little while longer. (Although a different meaning of his words did cross Alfred's mind…)

"No, I'd rather get back to… get back to my walk," Arthur replied hastily, "If that's all, I'll be going then." He turned around and went back the way they'd come, gently waving Alfred off as he went.

"Okay… bye…" Alfred turned back to enter the house but instead spun around quickly to call out, "Wait, I never got your number!" But the blond was either too far off to hear or simply didn't pay any heed to Alfred's words. Alfred glumly suspected the latter.

He turned back and went into the flat, disappointed.


	2. Chapter 2

**((Important Author's Note: I forgot to mention in the first author's note, and there wasn't room for it in the description, but in later chapters there will be mentions of rape and slightly more than mentions of rape, so if you're not comfortable with that, then I suggest you stop here before you get too invested in the story. Sorry about that… On a non-important note, sorry about the extremely convenient plot-convenience in this chapter. I'm not writing a novel here. Just some sappy, smutty, usuk/ukus, fanfiction.))**

"Where the _hell_ have you been all this time?!" Matthew shouted as soon as Alfred entered the flat, "I nearly called the cops! And what happened to your arm?!"

"I cut myself on the playground. One of the bolts was sticking out where I fell." Alfred lied quickly. Alfred was used to lying to Matt. Although when it was important, Matthew could usually tell. Luckily, this was not one of those times.

"Here let me look at it."

"Nah, it's cool. It's mostly just torn fabric. I'll stick a Band-Aid on it and it'll be fine."

"Dammit, Alfred, can't you stay out of trouble for one day?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go eat some pancakes or something, all right. I'm going to bed."

"If you think you're getting out of unpacking, you're sadly mistaken."

"I'll just do it in the morning, Matt," Alfred waved him off, walking into the nearest room, "Is this one mine?"

"That's the bathroom, Alfred."

"Right," Alfred said, going further down the hall to find his own room.

"It's all the way down on the left," Matt shouted, "it's the only one with a window."

"Thanks, Matt, you're the best!"

Getting to sleep for the first time in a new house is never easy, the rain continued on for most of the night, and the sounds of the city were completely foreign to the blond country boy. It also did not help that Alfred had known of his stuff because he had refused to unpack. The white walls of his room were completely barren, lifeless even. And it was frightening.

The one window cast to dim light against the pale walls, creating dark faces with hollowed eyes and grim intentions. There is something frightening about an empty room, there's nowhere to hide in yet, you feel as though you're being watched.

Back in America, Alfred had been known as something of a coward. He was picked on for it, yet everyone knew that if ghosts or zombies or vampires were brought up, Alfred would not be participating in the conversation.

There is just something about creatures that looked human, but _weren't_, that gave him chills. Not that he would've ever guessed that they were real. No, no one ever assumes that they're real. That is, until you see one face-to-face, and there is absolutely no doubt that what you are seeing is the true face of horror.

* * *

In the morning, Alfred had somehow managed to get away from unpacking- yet again- this time by slipping out of the house before Matthew had awoken. Alfred was a morning person. Matthew- while as a child had always been an early riser- had grown accustomed to long nights and late mornings.

Alfred was excited. Not in the "I have exciting plans" way, but more of the "I'm somewhere new, and I'm perfectly content just wandering around aimlessly for a few hours" way.

He didn't really know where he was headed, or which direction he was going, but he got the general feeling that he was headed the way he had come. But then again, knowing Alfred's sense of directions, he could have been halfway to Wales by now…

Finally, when Alfred decided that he was tired enough to rest he decided that he might as well get something to eat. Pulling out his smartphone, he searched for places to eat nearby. There were a few cheap pubs around, but they all had two stars or less. What Alfred _was_ interested in, however, was a little place a few blocks away which had somehow managed to obtain five star reviews.

He walked in the general direction of the place, reading the reviews as he went. It was what Alfred would probably have described as a coffee shop. It served tea, mainly, but also served lunch and bakery goods.

Finally, after several embarrassing wrong turns, Alfred reached the cosy little café. Despite England's peculiar weather, it actually had an outdoor section- albeit with a covering, but still. Alfred checked the sky. Dreary, but not rainy. He'd sit outside.

The waitress giggled at his accent, and recommended some form of pastry when he explained he'd just moved here. She was cute, but not really his type. He sat outside and sipped his tea- complementary of the waitress who'd been very obviously been flirting with him. He wasn't really a tea person, but it wasn't too bad.

The waitress brought out whatever it is Alfred had ended up ordering, and he asked if there was a bathroom somewhere. She politely gestured to the restroom sign back inside. He thanked her and went to do his business.

For some reason _now_ was the time that Alfred's mind wandered back to the previous night, and the mysterious _Arthur Kirkland_ he had met. _That_ was his type. Not that Alfred strictly went for men. All in all, he'd probably actually dated more women than men, but it was really just a guess.

Either way, that blonde was a hottie. Not just because of what he looked like, he just gave off an aura that simply gave Alfred shivers. Of course, so did his last boyfriend, and that didn't lead anywhere in the long run. Nothing ever lead anywhere in the long run for Alfred. Call it bad luck, or call it Alfred having bad taste in men(and women), it's all just a matter of opinion.

Back in the café, Alfred noticed that the small shop had a new patron. Sitting outside two tables away from Alfred's, was none other than Arthur Fucking Kirkland. _'How (plot) convenient…' _Alfred thought as he headed back out the door. This time. This time for sure he'd seduce the blond with the crazy brows.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said. The Brit nearly spat out his tea. "Do you come here often?"

"Oh, it's you…"

"Alfred," he finished for him. Alfred noticed that the Brit looked significantly less pale today. Maybe it had just been the lighting that had made him look so deathly pale before.

"Right, Alfred."

"You didn't answer my question, ya know?"

"Question?" Arthur looked slightly concerned. Alfred put his hand down on the table, ridiculously close to Arthur's face.

" 'Do you come here often?' " Alfred asked again, in his best seduction voice.

"Oh. Actually I do. This is my favourite tea shop."

"Really? So you literally come here often… that almost never works- Uh… I mean… uh… Can I sit with you?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes a bit at the blond.

"As long as you only sit."

"So… can I not talk then?" Alfred asked as he sat down.

"As long as you don't pester me too much, I don't really care what you do."

"Uh… what constitutes 'pestering'?"

"Asking ridiculous questions for one."

"Oops," Alfred laughed, "So how'd you find out about this place? Like did a friend recommend it or something?"

"I've been coming here nearly my whole life. My father showed it to me when I was young and I kept coming back even after he passed," Arthur said with practiced ease.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's hardly something to apologise about."

"Were you… were you close with your father?"

"I suppose you could say that. But his passing doesn't bother me if that's what you're getting at. It is the way of life after all."

Alfred shifted uncomfortably, suddenly remembering Arthur snapping the fat man's neck in the alleyway the night before.

"Uh… can I ask you a question?"

"No," Arthur said so plainly that he had to wonder if he was being sarcastic. He didn't say anything more, so maybe he wasn't…

"But what about yesterday?"

"What about it? I saved your life at the cost of someone else's. Either way, someone was going to die. It was only a matter of who."

"But couldn't you have… like _not_ killed him? Like-"

"No. I couldn't have. Someone was going to die. There was no avoiding that fact, Alfred."

Alfred shuddered at his name. He could have died last night. That fact was very true- and very frightening. But that also didn't change the fact that Arthur had _killed_ someone- to save a complete stranger at that. There was something odd about that to say the least.

"I assume you're wondering why I bothered to save you in the first place?" Arthur asked.

"You…. you can't read minds… right?"

"No."

"Okay… Why did you save me then?"

"Rather a low-life thug than a poor American fresh off the boat."

"Plane."

"Whatever."

"But you can't do that! You're playing god! You can't just chose who lives and dies!"

"Keep your voice down, Alfred. And I already told you, someone was going to die either way. Would you have rather I let them slit your throat and take your precious passport? And then who _knows_ what would have become of your corpse."

"N-no… I wouldn't rather that happened…"

"Then problem solved," Arthur said, continuing to sip his tea.

"But aren't you worried you'll get charged with murder? You could go to jail!"

"I'm not concerned with it. If they call me in, I'll explain what happened and things will sort themselves out. Not that I'm worried that will happen. I've seen these things before: the case will go into a special investigation group, and then it will never get solved. Problem sovled."

"But… your finger prints have got to be all over that guy's neck! It won't take them long to find you!"

"Alfred. I'm. Not. Concerned." He took another sip of his tea. "Things will work out."

"I don't know. Maybe it's just a lifetime of bad luck speaking, but I don't think things like that just work out…"

"Well, you have your luck, and I have mine. If you're concerned that you'll get involved, don't be. Even if they figure out you were there, like I said, it'll go into a special cases division, and never see the light of day again."

"Why do you say that it'll go into a special division?"

"Because I know how law works. There's a special division that handles these cases, and they're incompetent. They hardly ever solve cases."

"What division is this? How the hell does crime even work in England?"

"Probably not too differently from America. People commit crimes. People work to solve crimes. People fail to solve crimes. Murderers walk around freely."

"A-are you…?"

Arthur snorted at the question.

"That's not an answer," Alfred said nervously.

"Would you call the police on me if I said 'yes'?"

"I'm not sure I'd believe you…" Alfred said, shocked.

"Then don't," Arthur said, standing up- having finished his tea. "It's none of your concern if I'm a liar."

"A-and… are you a liar?"

"No," he smirked as he walked back into the café and then back out the door again and headed off.

There were two things that Alfred was certain of. One: he was very, very confused. And two: he'd quite possibly just fallen in love with a murderer.


	3. Chapter 3

When Alfred got back to the house- with a little help from Google maps- Matthew was waiting for him with a dark expression.

"What's with that expression, Matt? Are you so upset that I skipped out on unpacking again?"

"Don't change the topic, Alfred," Matthew replied coldly.

"We weren't…"

"Where were you?"

"What do you mean? You mean just now?"

"I _had_ meant just now, but since you needed me to clarify, you might as well tell me where you were last night as well."

"W-who says I was anywhere!?"

"That smug face you've had on since you walked in the door! You were getting into trouble again, weren't you?!"

"What? This is the face I always have!" Alfred raised his voice. Matthew gave his 'I'm _very_ unamused' look.

"Sit," he growled.

"But-"

"_SIT."_

Alfred reluctantly did as he was told, knowing full well that this would become a mother-like lecture. He had gotten quite a few of them where Matthew and their mother ganged up on him whenever he did something wrong.

"First of all, no more lying to me. You know damn well that mother would have insisted you come back if she heard about that. And then where would your silly dreams be then?"

Alfred gulped. He'd given up everything to move here. Not that he really had much back home, but still. If he had to throw away this as well… he couldn't live with himself.

"Second of all, you're damn lucky I'm more lenient than mom is. I know that you had a hard time when we were kids and you need some freedom. But this is not acceptable. We've been gone for two days and you've already lied to me.

"I don't feel the need to keep a leash on you, but you know that if it comes to that the first place I will be dragging you is back to the airport. Understand?"

"Yes…" Alfred muttered.

"Now why don't you start by telling me what really happened last night?" Matthew said in a lighter tone, sitting down across from Alfred at the cute little wooden table that came with the flat.

"I… I got followed by some guys and they were gonna mug me,"

"Do you still have your passport and your papers?"

"Yeah."  
"Then don't worry about it. I assume that's where you got that scratch?"

"Yeah, it was a knife."

Matthew nodded.

"And where were you this morning?"

"I went for a walk and I ate at a little coffee shop."

"That's it?" Matthew asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. I talked with the waitress, and I sat with this guy for a while."

Matthew sighed and leaned back in his chair, "You have a crush on the waitress now, don't you?"

"What? No! I mean, she was pretty, but she really wasn't my type."

"You mean she wouldn't dump you a week after meeting you and then cease all contact afterwards?"

"Not _all_ of my relationships end up that way, Matt," Alfred growled at his brother.

"I'm just saying you have a tendency. Don't get all defensive, I'm trying to help."

"Yeah, well your 'help' is unappreciated!" Alfred stood up abruptly, "I'm gonna go unpack."

* * *

Alfred had finished unpacking sooner than he had liked the night before, and he definitely wasn't going to give Matt the pleasure of seeing his face again that night. So he had resigned himself to scouring the internet for more pick-up lines to use on Arthur until he was tired enough to sleep.

It was about 9 AM when Alfred woke up. He considered sleeping in today since he had no plans, but then he remembered. There was a good chance Arthur Kirkland was going to be at that tea shop again, and Matthew had no fucking clue he even existed. This was his chance.

He practically flung himself out of bed. He dove for the closet, picking out something somewhat nice to wear. He felt like a school girl picking out clothes to wear on a date, but he was so excited he didn't even care. Kirkland would be his. He would seduce the shit out of that attractive man.

He took his shower, got dressed, combed his hair, and was out the door before Matthew ever got out of bed.

He let Siri guide him back to the little café and he ordered a few pastries and a sandwich to eat while he waited.

Sure enough, before long the blond Brit appeared and entered the shop- but not before noticing Alfred's presence at the table they had shared the day before. He ordered his things, and then came out to wait.

"I assume you expect to share this table again?"

"Well, you do owe me a drink…" Alfred smirked.

"Huh?"

"Because… uh… Oh! Because I dropped mine!"

"…"

"…"

"Oh, I mean you made me drop mine… Or… erm… Oh, I mean because 'when I looked at you I dropped mine!' "

There was a sort of long and awkward pause where neither of them said anything and Arthur just stood there looking into Alfred's eyes awkwardly.

"You know," he sighed, finally sitting down, "if you're going to insist on using cheap pick-up lines, you should at least have the decency to deliver them properly…"

"Right… sorry…"

The waitress came out and set down a cup of tea in front of Arthur. He thanked her and she went back inside.

"So…" Alfred started awkwardly, "You've lived here your whole life?"

"Yes," Arthur answered simply. Gee, this was going to be a fun conversation…

"So what is it you do?" Alfred asked. Arthur just sipped his tea. "Arthur?"

"Impatient much?" he growled softly as he set down his tea. "Mostly I just murder innocent children in the streets every night. If that answers your question."

"I… I more of meant as a living…."

"That _is_ what I do for a living."

"Okay… but… You know, can we _not _talk about murder today? What's so wrong with having a normal conversation?"

"Does it bother you?" Arthur asked coldly.

"Uh… well, I don't know if you're joking or not so…"

"Does it bother you?" Arthur repeated in the same tone.

"Uh… yeah, I guess so."

"Then you can leave," he replied plainly. Alfred didn't move. Arthur sighed. "_Fine._ Pray tell, Alfred, what exciting career do you have in England since you've moved?"

Ignoring the other's sarcasm, Alfred explained, "Well, back in America I worked at this company that restored houses. Repainting walls, replacing windows, updating appliances, the works. Mostly we just fixed up houses that needed it, but on occasion, we'd get to work on these nice old houses. It wasn't often, and when we did it was only a hundred years old or so, but still.

"And a lot of these people didn't even want the house restored, they just wanted it fixed up all pretty-like. Which was fine, but it always seemed like such a shame to have everything that the houses were be destroyed.

"So I did some digging, and I found this company here in England that was devoted solely to restoring old manors and such. And of course, England is way older than America, so you get a bunch of really cool old manors. So I called up the company, and they agreed to hire me if I moved over here. I start next week. I only have a few jobs piled up so far, but I'm just so excited."

"Clearly," Arthur said, "I didn't expect you to have any interest in historical buildings."

"Well, maybe not 'historical,' but I just love old architecture! It just gives off that feeling, ya know?"

"I suppose so." Arthur sipped his tea.

"So what is it you actually do for a job, Arthur?"

"I don't have a job right now. My father left me quite a bit of money and there isn't anything that interests me at the moment."

Arthur said it like it was no big deal- which shocked Alfred a little. His family hadn't exactly been poor, but they did struggle. Alfred had been working since his mid-teens, and Matthew had a part-time job pretty much all his life. The only reason they could afford the farm they'd lived on was because it had been passed down from their grandfather. It had been a miracle that Alfred had been able to move to England on the funds he had.

And Arthur, apparently, was rich. Or at least rich enough that he could get by without a source of income. Alfred considered calling him out on being a 'no-good pompous rich boy,' but he decided against it.

Instead he settled for a quiet, "Oh…"

Arthur gave a quiet 'hmm' in response, taking note of the American's reaction as he sipped his tea further.

"Don't get me wrong, Alfred, it's not like I've never worked a day in my life. Right now is… just not a good time."

To himself, he thought that anytime was a good time to work, and that someday- if something ever happened to Arthur- he might suddenly find himself out of his depth and on the streets. But he kept that to himself.

"So… what do you do all day then? Just goof off?"

"I keep myself busy. Small hobbies, keeping up on current events, and there are more books than one can read in a lifetime."

Calling him a 'pompous rich boy' was starting to sound more and more like a good idea…

"What, don't you ever go out with friends? Go to a party? Hook up with some girls?"

"I happen to be gay," he said with another sip of his tea. Alfred just smirked.

"Okay, hook up with some guys then."

"Social endeavours have never really been 'my thing.' "

"So if I were to ask you on a date, you'd be a huge stick-in-the-mud and turn me down, huh?"

Arthur didn't reply at first. His expression didn't change, and he made no indication that he'd even acknowledged the question. He took two long sips of his tea before he spoke again.

" 'Date' as in singular?" he said with a sigh.

"Uh, unless you want to-"

"Singular is perfect."

"Cool. So, uh, do you want to meet here, tomorrow at like- I don't know- noon-ish?"

"Here again?"

"Well, it is your favourite tea shop. I don't know any other places, but if you'd rather go somewhere else…"

"Here is fine," Arthur waved him off, "It doesn't particularly matter."

"Okay. Oh, and whatever you order tomorrow is on me!"

"That's entirely unnecessary, Alfred. First of all, I get the feeling I'm far better off than you. And second of all, I only ever order my tea anyway."

"First of all. Rude. I'm the one who asked, so let me pay for it. Second off all, shut up and let me pay for it."

Arthur looked rather amused at this.

"Fine, if you want to pay, then I've no right to stand in your way. It's completely unnecessary, though."

"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Alfred asked, standing up since they'd both finished their drinks.

"Yes, yes, I'll be here."

"Sweet, see you then!"

Alfred didn't see it, as he'd already gotten up to leave, but Arthur let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples.

"What have I gotten myself into now?"


	4. Chapter 4

**((So in this (short) chapter you get not a lot of plot, but a slight insight into Alfred's relationship with Matt, as well as another look at Alfred's… mindset? I'm going with that… Part of it is his personality, and the other part is related to some stuff… that's important…. stuff… It's real subtle, so I don't know why I mention it at all (Edit: It's so subtle, that when I went back to edit this I couldn't even remember what it was that I had subtly hinted at… I still don't know! *sobs*). And then after you get more insight on ALFRED, you get some really awesome insight on MATTHEW! I won't say any more, but it's really cool and there's another character, but I can't tell you, but you'll know who it is, and he'll come back later but- ACK! I've said too much! *hides* **

**((Edit: I've made a few changes to this chapter for a few reasons. 1) I desperately wanted to remove Alfred's "oddly tree-related smut." Because OHMYGOD, NO. JUST NO. And 2) Matthew's part in this chapter was both poorly-written, and revealed a little bit too much. It's not something that is a PROBLEM if you figure out, but for now I'd rather leave it a little more mysterious. For those of you who had read the original chapter and remember what I'm talking about, I'm so sorry….))**

Alfred started marching his way home when he noticed the very obvious spring in his step. He couldn't go home. Matthew would realize right away he had gotten himself a date and then the whole thing would be ruined before it began.

Alfred would have to be careful. He wasn't going to ruin this. Not this time.

So instead of heading straight home, Alfred wandered the streets of London. It was still daylight out, so he wasn't worried about running into more trouble. In truth, he hadn't even thought of that- he was far too giddy to even care.

The American wandered in and out of several small shops, buying random things on impulse. Matt might kill him for it later, but it did give him another excuse to be out of the house.

A while later, when his feet were tired and any hopes of his step being 'springy' vanished, he made his way home. He'd mostly gotten himself lost, but his phone was fully charged and Siri knew exactly where he was.

When he walked through the door of the house, Matthew looked him over cautiously from the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" he asked casually. Alfred internally let out a sigh. Matt wasn't suspicious at all.

"Out shopping. Look I have stuff!" Alfred held up the multiple bags of goodies. Matt rolled his eyes.

"We really don't have money for those kinds of things you know…"

"C'mon, you don't even know what's in here! They could be bio-degradable cheese graters!"

"Are they?"

"Well, no, but they could be."

Matt just chuckled.

"Just set them down somewhere and sit down for dinner."

"What are we having?" Alfred asked as he set the bags down in the hallway.

"Mom's spaghetti," he said as he brought it over, "Let me tell you how hard I had to work to get this stuff. Do you know what strange looks I got when I asked where I could find some 'bAESil'? Like, 'could I get some basil?' 'What?' And 'paRRsley.' Like, is it a terrible sin if I just stress that 'r' a little bit more?"

"Ha! British people and their funny words!"

"For once I agree with you. And heaven forbid I say 'or-EH-geno' instead of 'oreg-AHNO'."

"Yeah, like," Alfred cleared his throat in preparation to do his very best Herminie Granger impression ever, "It's 'or-EH-geno' not 'oreg-AHNO'!"

"Well said!"

"High five!"

* * *

After dinner, Alfred retired to his room, and Matthew went out to take care of some business. Alfred went back to being really giddy. He had a date, and Matthew knew nothing about him! He felt a little bad, trying so desperately to hide it, but he couldn't risk it. Not with their arrangement floating above his head like a death threat.

Besides, this one felt different. Not like, different-different. In fact, he could see several similarities with dates of his past, but everyone has a type… right? No, this one was different in some other aspect. And maybe his bad luck had finally run out and this would work out. For at least a month. Yeah. A month sounded perfect.

Of course, they weren't actually dat_ing_ yet. Arthur had been very clear that this was singular. But that didn't mean they couldn't go out again. Or that Alfred would make him his very exclusive lover after long.

Alfred laughed maniacally at his plans. He didn't care if he looked like a love-struck teenage girl hugging a pillow excitedly. This was serious business. Minus the pillow-hugging and rolling around on the bed laughing. Admittedly, that was pretty childish. But again, he didn't particularly care.

And then his mind started wandering past his immediate plan of seducing Mr. Eyebrow-Face… After he was thoroughly seduced… How long would it take to bed him? A week maybe? Maybe more. He did seem awful stick-up-the-butt-ish. But Alfred would have to remove said stick… and replace it… with a bigger stick… a human man-meat stick… of love…

Alfred could imagine it, Arthur laying all sexy-like on the bed- his pompous attitude flung out the window as he begged Alfred to sex him good, crying out like some teenage whore.

This was his very sexy plan. And it was so sexy, that he couldn't wait, and had to rub one out… alone in his bedroom…

* * *

While Alfred was… busy in his room, Matthew was out- as previously mentioned- taking care of some business. He was walking along the road- which during the daytime, would have been fairly crowded with people and cars- which was now abandoned aside from Matthew… and the figure which was following him…

Matthew had long realized the figure had been trailing him, but he didn't quicken his pace or dart down a random alleyway. There was no proof that this figure was following him just yet. But it was getting awful close.

Matthew could hear the slow but determined steps drawing closer, now maybe only five metres away from him now. In a rushed action, Matthew cast a nervous glance at his pursuer. It was a man, shorter than Matthew- maybe 5'10. The blond was wearing an unbuttoned paletot over a lose grey shirt and dark pants.

Matthew quickly averted his gaze, but the man had certainly seen and picked up the pace a bit- barely noticeable. But Matthew noticed. He picked up his own pace- a little less subtly, and his pursuer followed suit.

Matthew was all but jogging down the road, and the man behind him was gaining fast. Matthew looked behind him again. The blond man had a devilish grin on his face- certainly not one that any person with good intentions would wear.

Matthew swallowed noticeably. Picking up his pace yet again, he quickly turned down another street. The man followed. He thought about just making a run for it, but he was too far away from home, and he doubted he could make it anywhere safe before the man following him caught him.

He stole another glance behind him, trying not to trip over his own feet as he did so. The man behind him had his gaze deadlocked on him, his expression revealing that he knew he had already won…

Matthew felt an involuntary shudder force its way down his spine. Mentally he cursed himself for it, but he continued nonetheless. He suddenly broke into a run. The man following him of course did the same.

He darted down the next alleyway he passed, not bothering to look before he leapt, so to speak. It didn't take long for him to realize his mistake.

The road ended in a brick wall, no way out except the way he had come. He heard the man's footsteps echo quietly off the surrounding walls.

Matthew turned around and shuddered, realizing how close the man was to him. He took a step back- unconsciously resting a hand over his pocket.

The blond man hesitated his approach, his confident gaze giving way to a look of uncertainty as he noticed the slight movement.

Matthew peeled his hand away from his pocket, silently cursing himself for the mistake. The blond man smiled disappointedly.

"Ah, I see," was all he said, a light French accent rolling off with his words.

Matthew narrowed his eyes, frowning and the man smiled brighter in response.

"Ah, but do not feel bad, mon petite nimrod. You played your part very nicely, I'm honestly quite impressed." The man took a cautious step towards Matthew, who remained completely still, although his heart beat a tiny bit faster. "It's too bad too; I'd been following you for quite a while- although, now I'm sure you knew that."

Matthew didn't say anything, simply kept his eyes carefully trained on the other's. The man chuckled quietly at him.

"You don't have to respond. I'll need to be going soon anyway," the man said, taking a few slow, almost casual, steps back before turning around and walking away.

Matthew considered going for his pocket again, but at this point it would be a death sentence. The man turned back and smiled at him over his shoulder, "Au revoir, monsieur chasseur."


	5. Chapter 5

**((Hey, everyone. Sorry for the wait, school's been a bitch. So this chapter starts molding Alfred and Arthur's relationship a little bit. Arthur- for reasons unbeknownst to you, but beknownst to me- decides to allow Alfred to attempt to woo him. But although they start to get to know each other a bit in this chapter, Arthur is still hesitant about keeping Alfred around- again, unbeknownst to you, beknownst to me. Next chapter will be the starting of true familiarity between the two, and then a possible cliffhanger, depending on how long the chapter is when I get to certain points. Anyway, this is a long chapter with not a terrible lot going on, so try not to fall asleep and maybe pay a bit of attention.))**

Alfred woke up the next day at 10. He then stayed in bed for another hour, refusing to believe he was actually awake until 11. Then, finally, he got dressed, went downstairs, ate breakfast, and left for his date at about 11:38. Matt had been out the previous night, and probably wouldn't wake up until noon, when he would have to go to his part-time job at a nearby shop.

Matthew never bothered to tell his brother exactly what it was he did outside of his day job, but Alfred got the general idea that it was some kind of "under the rug," "super hush-hush" type of thing. So Alfred learned to stop asking, and then basically told everyone he knew that his brother was a spy. Alfred could be a little near-sighted at times- both literally and figuratively.

* * *

This being his third visit, Alfred had more or less learned the way to the little tea shop and didn't need to rely on Siri to help get him there. Although he did take a wrong turn, and arrived slightly later than he had planned, but he was still early. By the time he was settled down with a cup of coffee and a small pastry, it was 11:55. Which happened to be precisely when Arthur Kirkland walked into the shop, barely paying Alfred a second glance before disappearing inside to order his tea.

Arthur walked back outside and, rather reluctantly, sat down across from Alfred, his scowl never ceasing.

"Aw, c'mon, Arthur. Please tell me today isn't going to be another awkward exchange while you glare at me the whole time. I asked you on a date, and you said yes. Fair is fair, no pouting."

"I'm most certainly _not_ pouting, Alfred. And even if I were, nowhere in our 'agreement' did I forgo my right to do so."

"Jesus _Christ_, Arthur. Get that stick out of your ass and live a little." Arthur groaned as Alfred continued, "It's a _date._ As in, _supposed to be fun?_ It can't hurt you. Loosen up."

"Alfred," Arthur growled, his temper dangerously close to snapping, "I may have agreed to_\- oh, you know what? Screw it._" Arthur's tone suddenly dropped as he slouched back in his chair.

"Fine, have it your way, I'm not even going to argue anymore," Arthur muttered, defeated, "It's been a long time since I've gone on a date, and longer still since I've even allowed myself to enjoy one. Have at it," Arthur sighed, waving for Alfred to continue.

"Geez, how old are you even? When's the last time you've gone on a date?"

"Older than twenty, less than thirty. And you _really _don't want to know," Arthur smirked a little. It was a tired, emotionless smirk, but a smirk nonetheless.

"If I realized you were such an old man, I might not have asked you out," Alfred laughed. Arthur just snorted. "Still, your face is vaguely attractive, so I'll let it slide."

"Only vaguely?" Arthur pondered.

"Well, your eyebrows kind of do you in, and your complexion is shit, so…" Alfred chuckled, "I mean would it kill you to get some sun?"

Arthur grinned at him, amused, "Perhaps not, but you can imagine how much sun we get here in England."

"Still, the weather's not too bad today," Alfred commented as a little beam of sunlight poked out of the clouds to shine on Arthur's face, who squinted at it unenthusiastically.

"Yes, it's absolutely lovely isn't it?" Arthur asked sarcastically, and then more seriously, "Must remind you of home, doesn't it?"

"Well, aside from the fact that it's at least 200% sunnier in America, then yeah, sure."

"Hmm," Arthur murmured, taking another sip of his tea, seeming much more relaxed now that he'd decided not to be a complete ass, "You never said where exactly in America you're from. I'd guess from your accent, somewhere in the mid-west?"

"Yep. Wisconsin, actually: land of cows and hills, mainly. We lived on a cute little house on a hill and kept ponies. I liked it."

"So vastly different from central London then?"

"Yeah. Last time I checked, you can't keep horses here."

"I'm afraid you might be in the wrong century for something like that, love."

" 's too bad, too. Imagine me in like, the 17th century," Alfred laughed.

Arthur's face wavered, "I'd… actually rather not," he muttered quietly, unnoticed by Alfred.

"But seriously though, I think I'll just be happy restoring old houses. I mean it'd be kind of cool to live way back then, but, y'know, TV, videogames, _the internet_. I would _die_ if I had to go without."

"Yes, but if you'd been born in the 1800s, you'd have no knowledge of such things and therefore would have no problem without them."

"Yeah, but isn't that even worse? Like, even now, we have _no idea_ what kind of cool stuff they're gonna have in the future. And in like 200 years, someone's gonna be having this exact conversation and think we were old farts who didn't know how to have fun because… I don't know, we didn't have access to space joy rides or hoverboards or some cool shit like that.

"Or imagine if after we die, some genius invents something totally unthinkable, and we can't even _imagine_ what it would be like because it's so cool and impossible to our simple minds! I mean, c'mon! I wanna see the future!"

After a moment, Arthur chuckled and replied, "I think only you could take our conversation about 17th century London and turn it into ranting about the 'cool shit' the future might have…"

"Yeah, but just think about it. I mean I carry this around with me every day-" Alfred said, pulling out his iPhone, with the American flag plastered on its case, "-and rarely do I ever think about what it does. I mean… what's your number?"

Alfred typed it in as he was told, and pushed dial. A Beatles song started playing in Arthur's pocket.

"Look at this! I pushed like a dozen magic touch buttons on this thing, it sends a signal way up into space, and then all the way back here, just so your phone can play your crappy ringtone and you can reject my call. _And_, now I have your number too." Alfred stuck his tongue out, thinking himself awful clever for 'tricking' the Brit into giving him his number.

"Believe me, Alfred, the wonder of it is certainly not lost on me. Quite frankly, I can hardly keep track of how all of these devices work. Half of the time I'm tempted to write it off as, 'the magic of technology,' and leave it as that."

"It just works because it does, right?" Alfred laughed, "You have to wonder what people would have thought if they had seen this stuff a couple centuries ago. I'll betcha that that's where the whole 'magic' thing came from. Some idiot with a time machine, or like aliens or something went screwing around with history and caused a panic."

"Now, I highly doubt that. _I_, for one, happen to believe in magic. And it has nothing to do with time travel, or aliens, or the like."

"Yeah, that sounds like something someone old and weird like you would believe in." Alfred jabbed, leaning back in his chair.

Arthur raised an eyebrow before taking the final sip of his tea.

"Is that it then?" Arthur asked, setting down the cup.

"What, of the date?"

"Well, I have finished my tea. Unless you have intentions of dragging me off who-knows-where," Arthur commented a bit bitterly.

"We can leave it here, I suppose. But only if you'll go out with me again tomorrow."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Just don't make this a habit, Jones."

"Hey, you remembered my last name! And make a habit of what, exactly? Taking you on dates? Because I _certainly _intend to make a habit of that, _Kirkland_," Alfred added teasingly.

"Don't get the impression that this changes anything between us," Arthur said, standing up, "but I'll see you tomorrow then. Same time."

Arthur left, leaving Alfred to pay for his tea as he promised. Alfred just beamed. He had him in the bag…

* * *

For six days, Alfred and Arthur continued going on short dates at precisely noon every day. By the time Monday rolled around again, Arthur had warmed up considerably, agreeing not to completely ignore Alfred's attempts by nipping them in the bud with sarcastic comments (Although, Arthur seemed to rely heavily on his sarcasm anyway).

On Monday, the two had rescheduled their date around 8 AM, as Alfred had to meet his boss at 9, and would be starting work later in the day.

Arthur- evidently- was not a morning person.

After yawning quietly, Arthur asked, "So what exactly are you doing this early in the morning, anyway? I thought you said you didn't have to work until eleven?"

"Yeah, but I need to meet up with my boss first and go over the last bit of paperwork and all that. Boring stuff, but I shouldn't have to do this regularly, so in the future we can have our dates at ten, and after I can leave for work."

"Ten sounds much more agreeable…" Arthur sighed, sipping his tea slowly.

Alfred just laughed, "I suppose so. Not a fan of mornings?"

"Not particularly, no. I used to be a bit more agreeable in the morning, but recently I found myself being a bit more lively at night…" he paused and then chuckled quietly at something he'd said.

"Sounds like my brother, Matt. He used to wake me up every morning at seven, and now I'm lucky if I see him before noon."

Arthur narrowed his eyes a bit, seemingly trying to consider this statement with his groggled mind.

"Odd," was all he said.

Alfred shrugged, "I guess people change over time. Although, not too much, because he's still an ass to me. I mean, I guess I'm kind of a dick to him too, but he totally deserves it."

"Hmm, I'm sure," Arthur said. Alfred wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but ultimately decided it didn't really matter either way.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Alfred spoke again.

"So you never mentioned, do you have any family other than your dad?"

"My father is dead, Alfred."

"Right, I remember. But, I mean, he's still family, right? I mean you said you liked him and all."

"I suppose you're right. And to answer your question, no, I don't have any other family. My mother passed away when I was young, and I don't have any siblings," Arthur said without pausing, like he'd said the line a thousand times."  
"Gee, I'm sorry."

"Alfred, it's hardly anything to apologize about. For one, it doesn't bother me, and for two, it has nothing to do with you."

Alfred shrugged, "Still. I guess apologizing for everything is a habit I picked up from Matt. He went with mom on a trip to Canada for a year and he came back with the accent and everything. I swear he still has it sometimes."

"You didn't go to Canada with them?"

"Nah. Mom didn't want me making a fuss so she left me at home with our 'uncle'- who I'm pretty positive none of us our actually related to."

"What about your father? He didn't go to Canada without you as well, did he?"

"Don't know. Never met the guy," Alfred shrugged, "I'm pretty sure it was one of those hot-but-short love affairs. Mom never talks about him, so we don't ask. Well, Matt didn't ask. I pestered her about it for like two days straight before she locked me in the basement to get me to shut up."

"Your mother sounds…" Arthur drummed his fingers once before continuing hesitantly, "charming…"

"Yeah, she's a bit intense, but she means well."

"Hmm," Arthur murmured sleepily, "I never really had that sort of relationship with my par… uh-" he stopped suddenly, as if remembering something important. He took extremely slow sip of his tea before continuing,

"I mean to say, that's not the sort of relationship I had with my father."

Alfred kind of gawked at Arthur's sudden ill-spoken-ness, as if amused by the fact that Arthur could, in fact, slip up in his words.

"So what, he never punished you for getting into trouble?"

"I happen to have been a very obedient and disciplined child," Arthur said defensively, taking a sip of his tea.

"Dude, there's _no such thing_ as an 'obedient and disciplined child.' Except maybe Matt- but that's because our mom is like a general… with a tank… and nuclear bombs…"

"Again, she sounds absolutely delightful. I can't wait to meet her," Arthur muttered.

"Ah, well, I don't think that would be a good idea..." Alfred stuttered, completely missing Arthur's sarcasm. "Not that it would even be likely, I mean, she's still in America, so…"

Arthur rolled his eyes at Alfred's obliviousness, but curious, he asked, "Why wouldn't it be a good idea?"

"Well… For one she has a habit of hating and then proceeding to terrify the shit out of anyone and everyone I date- although lately that's been Matt's job- and two, neither she nor Matt even know you exist, so…"

"You didn't tell your twin brother about where you've been every morning for the past week?"

"Hell no! He'd insist on meeting you and then probably kick you out of the house and put a restraining order on you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at this.

"Would he not approve?" he asked curiously.

"Matt doesn't approve of anyone I date. As a general rule, if I've so much as checked them out, Matt wouldn't approve."

"Curious. Although, you do recall that we aren't actually dating, correct?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just a string of 'singular' dates, every day, at a precise time, for the last week. That isn't dating at all."

"I'm serious, Alfred. I'm under no obligation to keep seeing you."

"Yeah, but you will, because this is your favourite tea shop, and I'll be here every day, waiting for you."

"I could always come here while you're at work."

"Yeah, but that would be mean. And as much as you won't admit it, you _do_ like me. What's so wrong about making it official anyway?"

"There's… nothing _wrong _with it," Arthur began carefully, "It's just, I have certain… requirements for long-term partners."

"And I don't fit those requirements?" Alfred asked, a little hurt.

"Not currently, no. But that could change at any given time, so…" Arthur trailed off and checked his watch, "It's 8:47, shouldn't you be running off to your meeting with your boss?"

Alfred checked his phone, "Probably… But tell me about these requirements first! What do I have to do to get your undying love?"

Arthur chuckled and shook his head, "Well, I don't know about that, but we can discuss my requirements at another time. Off to your meeting, Jones," Arthur waved him off.

Alfred pouted, but left nonetheless. Arthur watched him go, a curious expression on his face.

_'__Undying, eh? Perhaps Alfred should be taught a thing or two about the 'undying'…'_ He took another sip of his tea, _'I doubt he'd stick around much longer after_ that_…'_


	6. Chapter 6

**((Okay, so this chapter has been separated into two parts, so I already have the second part part of the way done, but both chapters will be a little shorter than usual I think... Anyway, this is mainly more of Alfred and Arthur's relationship development, but also preparation for things to come in future chapters. It's very exciting.))**

Two days later- on Wednesday- Alfred had already taken to complaining about his job. The day before he'd even complained so much that he'd forgotten about Arthur's 'requirements,' and the subject- or any other subject for that matter- hadn't even come up.

"Man, I can't believe I'm getting jipped like this!"

" 'Jipped?' " Arthur asked.

"Ya know, cheated, scammed, screwed. Jipped." Alfred explained as if it were common lingo.

"So… how have you been _cheated_ at work?"

"Well, for one, like I was telling you yesterday, the house we were working on Monday and Tuesday was only like fifty years old, and that was disappointing. And the one we're working on today isn't much better. But that aside, there aren't even any jobs for the rest of the week! So not only am I working on practically brand new houses, but if someone doesn't call in before the end of today, I'm not even going to have anything to work on Thursday and Friday!"

"I hate to break it to you, Alfred, but fifty years is hardly brand-new."

"Yeah, but the people who built it are probably still alive, and that's no fun!"

Arthur quirked an eyebrow.

"So you only like architecture if the person who built it is dead?"

"Well, no, but the designer being dead at least makes it a little old… generally speaking anyway… Like, the guy could have died from kidney failure a day after they built the thing, but… ya know…"

"I'm not sure someone would die of kidney failure so suddenly like that…"

"Well, maybe they had it for a while and never noticed. I don't know. Old time-y people and their lack of medicine, you know?"

"Quite…" Arthur muttered, possibly sarcastically- Alfred wasn't sure. "Anyway, your odd obsession with things built by dead people aside-"

"Hey! First of all, that's not what I said. And second of all, aren't you the one with an odd obsession with death? Or at the very least, a creepy level of familiarity around dead people and death in general…" Alfred trailed off a bit, remembering that Arthur had, in fact, killed a man just under two weeks ago.

"Speaking of, we never ended up discussing my requirements for long-term partners," Arthur grinned mischievously.

"Oh, god, I don't have to die, do I? You're not going to kill me and marry my corpse or something, are you?"

Arthur smirked, "I don't think you would make nearly as pleasant company if you were dead…"

"So you _do_ enjoy my company then?" Alfred grinned, changing the topic.

"Any company is good company when you're alone, dear Alfred," Arthur smiled sadly.

Alfred's smiled dropped as he pondered this. No words of consolement or agreement immediately found their way to Alfred's mouth, and so he stayed quiet, contemplative.

"Well… that's what friends are for, right?" Alfred let a consoling smile infect his face.

He didn't really want to call Arthur a _friend_ when they could be _so_ much more, but that's what they were, right? Maybe he just didn't want to admit it, but he did really like Arthur- more than as a potential future sex doll who paid for dates.

Maybe he didn't even love Arthur…

But he sure as hell liked him.

Arthur chuckled, the sadness still evident on his face, but he was- at the very least- amused at Alfred's efforts.

"It appears you're not as oblivious as I first thought you were, Alfred. Perhaps you would make a decent partner after all," Arthur pondered, possibly to himself.

"Then… would you-?"

"Not so impatient, Alfred. There are still my requirements to deal with."

"Then, what do I have to do?" Alfred asked cautiously, not sounding nearly as excited as he was.

"Nothing. It's a matter of what I have to do. But I still have to think it over some. Perhaps we can discuss it further on our date on…" Arthur bit his lip, thinking, "Friday, I suppose."

"Alright, that's fair, I guess. I have to pick up groceries after though, so let's not plan anything extravagant."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, shouldn't you be heading off to your lame Wednesday job?"

"Yeah, probably. See you tomorrow? Same time?"

"Of course, love. I'll see you then."

The two parted. Alfred went to the house he was touching up today, and Arthur went off to begin the first phase of his plan.

* * *

"That should be the last of it," Alfred's co-worker, Gilbert said.

"We repainted all the baseboards, cleaned the carpet, and fixed the old gate out back. That's all we had to do, right?"

"Yeah, and it's not even two…"

"We don't have anything tomorrow or Friday either," Alfred muttered.

"I guess our long weekend starts now then! Got any plans for the weekend?"

"Well, I have a date or two…"

"Ooh, a pretty lady friend?"

"Uh, well, something like tha-" Alfred cut off as his phone started ringing- some Hanna Montana song from _ages_ ago. Alfred never got around to changing it, and honestly, he still kind of liked the song. Not that he would ever admit it though.

It was his boss.

After a short conversation of several, uh huhs, okays, and got its, Alfred hung up and turned to Gilbert.

"Turns out we've got work for the rest of the week. Some old rich guy just called to get his manor restored at the earliest possible time. So we have to be there tomorrow at nine, and Friday at ten."

"Aww, I was looking forward to getting so much time off…"

"Yeah, well, I kind of need the money, so I'm not all too disappointed," Alfred said, "I _will_ have to cancel my date though."

* * *

Alfred started heading home, walking along the quiet street, populated only by a few late lunch-goers. Alfred pulled out his phone and dialled Arthur's number. He put the phone to his ear and as it rung, imagined Arthur's phone blaring "American Idiot"- which Alfred had discovered was Arthur's ringtone for him when he'd accidentally pocket-dialed him on one of their dates.

" 'Ello, Alfred. Is something the matter?" Arthur asked casually.

"Ah, no. Well, yeah, but not really. Someone just called in a last minute contract, and they want us in at nine tomorrow. I'm gonna have to cancel our date."

"Cancel? Can't we just reschedule it for the afternoon? They can't have you working literally _all_ day, right?"

"Yeah, okay, that sounds fine."

"How's around six sound? Will you be off by then?"

"Yeah, we get off right around then, so maybe like 6:15 then?"

"Sounds perfect, love. And are we still on for Friday?"

"Ah, no. Can we reschedule that one too? Same time?"

"Of course. Will you have time to get your groceries afterwards?"

"Yeah, it'll be dark by then, but yeah, I can get them."

"Alright, love. I'll see you tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7

**((Okay, next time remind me to copy the author's note WITH the story so I don't have to rewrite it AGAIN. Anyway, this turned out really long- blah, blah, blah- almost 4,000 words****\- blah, blah, blah- the first half is boring****\- blah, blah, blah- cliffhanger****\- blah, blah, blah- turning point****\- blah, blah, blah- enjoy, and don't forget to review.))**

The next day, Alfred woke up at eight. Matthew was already awake- as he hadn't gone out the previous night, and thus had woken up at the ungodly hour of six in the morning. Seriously, who wakes up at six?

Matthew still hadn't seemed to notice Alfred's extra chipperness from his dates- or if he did, he didn't say anything about it.

Alfred practically inhaled his glass of orange juice before flying out the door and across town to get to the manor he'd be working on today. From what his boss said, it had sounded like it was at least a little old, and _very_ big.

He was not disappointed.

Well, actually, he was, but that was because upon arriving, instead of a paintbrush to retouch the interior, he received a shovel and a pair of clippers to do some gardening.

Alfred looked back from the work he was doing on the hedge. The manor was quite beautiful… It was even sunny out today, and the old building gleamed in the morning sun.

The just over 200-year-old manor had a brown stone exterior that looked almost like mahogany, smooth and clean without any noticeable flaws from this far away. The dark blue roof tiles were beautiful and shimmery in the sunlight. The white window frames were old, but still in mint condition. The windows themselves may even have been the original windows the house had when it was first built.

All in all, the house was in impeccable condition. The family that had been living here for the past 200 years must have been upkeeping the house regularly to keep it in this condition.

Which explained why his boss had been so eager to take the contract as soon as he had. Clearly they had done business before, and he was eager to please this customer.

Alfred sighed and went back to trimming the bush he'd been assigned. That also might explain why he was stuck _gardening_. He was a… house… restoring… person… not a gardener.

After the bushes were finished he'd then been assigned to hauling wheelbarrows full of large decorative stones that the owner had ordered to be placed around the shrubs.

It was just after noon, and Alfred was on his third wheelbarrow full and it was _hot._

Alfred pushed the wheelbarrow up next to the shrubs when he realized none of his co-workers were working. He looked back towards the house and found them huddled around a plate of drinks and sandwiches that had been placed on a table right outside the house.

Alfred growled. No one had told him that the owner would be providing lunch breaks… No one tells the new guy anything.

He was just about to go over and steal a sandwich before they all disappeared when a voice from behind stopped him.

"Hungry?" it asked.

Alfred spun around to find the owner standing behind him in sunglasses and a hat, holding a plated sandwich and a glass of lemonade. Alfred blinked at him.

"Arthur?"

Arthur smiled at him.

"You were complaining you hadn't gotten to work on any old manors yet, and you hadn't come over yet, so I figured I'd surprise you," Arthur said, smiling as he handed the sandwich and glass over to Alfred.

The sandwich was gone in under ten seconds and the lemonade followed soon after.

"So wait, you live _here?_" Alfred asked in awe, doing a double-take of the beautiful manor.

"It's been in my family since it was built," Arthur explained, looking back at it with a sense of pride on his face, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"I'll say. Too bad I'm stuck out here gardening, though," Alfred teased, raising an eyebrow at Arthur.

"I'd been thinking about getting something done out here for a while, and your boss said you would do it," Arthur shrugged, "But if you want to see the inside," Arthur gestured for him to follow.

None of the workers seemed to notice to two slip into the old building. The side door they had gone through had led into a large kitchen area. To the left were the appliances, a _really _old stove, and a vaguely new fridge. On the wall behind the stove was a rather large painting of a porch overlooking the sea, the clouds grey and ominous. To the right was a small dining area- a breakfast room, Alfred thought it was called.

Arthur deposited the plate and glass in the sink before setting his sunglasses and hat down on the breakfast room table. He seemed a lot paler than Alfred remembered him being. He looked more like he had when he had first met him in the rain- pale skin with tired dark eyes…

Arthur was oblivious to Alfred's ponderings and continued leading him into a hallway.

"The pantry is this door here," Arthur said as they passed a closed door on their left, "and you can see the dining room through that door there," an open door on their right.

They passed into the front room- what Alfred would have called a foyer. The hall continued on the other side of it, but Arthur stopped.

"Further down the hall are the library and the door to the cellar steps. The living room is that door over there," Arthur pointed to an open door near the entryway, "And of course up the stairs are the bedrooms and my personal study," Arthur gestured to one of the two staircases leading up to the second floor.

"It's amazing," Alfred said, looking up at the chandelier hanging from the second floor ceiling. It had _candles_ on it. The chandelier still burned _candles_. "Do you ever light that thing?" he asked.

"Not usually anymore. It's a bit outdated, and it's a pain to light," Arthur allowed, scowling at the thing, as if pondering if it should be upgraded or not.

"I like it…" Alfred said. Arthur suddenly grinned like it was his most prized possession in the whole world. "I'm amazed this place is in such good condition. Normally old places like this tend to fall into despair if you don't keep up on it."

"Well, I've tried to keep it well-maintained. I get it inspected and touched up every few years just in case. And this place _was_ built to last, after all," Arthur said, a contemplative expression on his face, "Did you know that this house was supposedly built by a vampire," Arthur whispered, like it was a great secret, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Of course I didn't. I didn't even know you lived here."

"Well, like I said, I wanted to surprise you," Arthur paused, slowly examining the dull railing on the staircase- it was due for a polishing- before slowly continuing, trying to sound casual, although Alfred was oblivious to his failing to do so, "You don't believe in magic, Alfred… but do you believe in vampires?"

Alfred shifted uncomfortably. This was exactly the kind of conversation he liked to avoid if at all possible...

"I… I don't generally like to think about things like that… vampires… and the undead…" Alfred paused before adding quietly, as if someone might hear, "werewolves…"

Arthur chuckled at Alfred's addition.

"So you're afraid of creatures of the night, then?" Arthur said, amused, before leaning in closer to Alfred, a devilish smirk plastered on his face, "What would you do, I wonder, if I told you there was a vampire living in this very house?" he said, his eyes darting- as if unconsciously- to the location he had pointed out to be the door to the cellar stairs.

Alfred, instinctually turned his head, almost expecting a cloaked figure to have appeared, fangs dripping blood. Of course the space was empty, but a feeling of dread slowly overcame him, and he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat.

He turned slowly back to Arthur, searching his face for any signs that he was either serious or joking. He grimly suspected the former.

"You're not… you're not serious, are you?" Alfred asked, suppressing a shiver that was _definitely_ from the sudden cold of the house.

Arthur laughed, "Alfred, I _think_ I would have noticed there were a vampire living in the cellar. I _do_ live here, you know."

Alfred let out a sigh of relief. Arthur laughed a little.

"It's too bad you aren't a fan of the supernatural. I'm quite enthralled by it…"

"Well," Alfred started, as if pondering if this was information he truly wanted to share, "to be perfectly honest, I kind of am too… I just don't think I would ever want to meet a vampire or anything face-to-face, ya know?"

"I suppose so. Because you would assume that if one meets a vampire face-to-face, one does not have much longer to live."

Alfred shuddered, "Yeah, I'd rather not die, thank you very much. Especially not at the hands of a vampire…"

"Or fangs, rather. I'd expect that to be a rather horrific way to go."

"Ugh, yeah. And this is exactly the sort of place they _would_ live, too… All old and stuff…"

"Now, Alfred, don't hurt my feelings. Remember I _do_ live here."

"Oh, geez," Alfred rolled his eyes at Arthur's feigned hurt, "It's a nice place, Arthur- a _really_ nice place. I'm just saying that vampires would like… _flock_ to a place like this."

"I hardly think vampires _'flock' _anywhere… I think they would be rather solitary."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "You get my point though."

"Yes. You're saying that old houses terrify you because most of them probably have vampires living in them. Have fun thinking about that on the next house you go to restore. I bet there are _tons_ of vampires in England too. Nice weather for it."

Alfred's face dropped.

"Dude, I think you just _ruined_ my job for me for like… forever…"

"Don't be silly, Alfred. You and I both know vampires don't actually exist," Arthur said teasingly, carefully pinching Alfred's cheek like a grandmother would, "So you have nothing to worry about."

Alfred wasn't entirely convinced, but smiled nonetheless. Arthur checked his watch.

"It's probably about time you all started work on the interior… I'd like to get all of this done before the weekend…"

"What's this weekend?"

"Oh, nothing. I would just rather this didn't go on longer than it needs to. The house is in good enough condition as it is; for the most part I take pretty good care of it."

"Will you be hanging around?"

"I'll admit I don't much like the smell of paint, so as long as you all are working down here, I'll be up in my study. Besides, I'd rather not distract you any, you are getting paid after all."

"_You're_ paying me," Alfred reminded him.

"Yes, and I know exactly how much you've been working, so I suggest you do an excellent job on it."

* * *

Alfred and the other workers finally finished the ground floor around 6:30- they would do the first floor on Friday- and they began to clear out and head home.

Alfred stayed behind to meet up with Arthur upstairs. The two of them eventually decided to have their date at the house, but they would go to the tea shop for their date tomorrow. Eventually, Alfred was carefully shooed out of the house- much to his chagrin- and he headed home to get some rest before his next long day of work.

The next day, Alfred went straight to work. They managed to finish the first floor- which was no less impressive than the ground floor- in no time. The workers finished up, went over some last details on the ground floor, and left around 5:30.

This of course, left plenty of time for Alfred and Arthur to make their way to the tea shop for their date. On the way, Alfred asked him half a dozen questions about the manor, including the exact year it was built, who designed the house, how many people worked to build it, and so on.

And Arthur answered every question with ease, only pausing slightly to think about the question before an exact figure could be given. The house was built in 1806 (completed in 1807), it was designed by Arthurs "_very_ great grandfather and his spouse," and about two dozen people had worked on the house (but only ever about half a dozen at a time). In addition, Alfred learned that the house _had_ supposedly been built by a vampire.

"What I said before about the house being built by a vampire is also true, Alfred."

"What, so supposedly your 'very great grandfather' was a vampire?" Alfred asked, a little less nervous about it now that they were no longer in the house.

"Supposedly? Oh, yes, I suppose I did say that…"

"Yeah, but… didn't you also say that vampires weren't real?"

"I did, but you should know by now that I'm a big fat liar," Arthur teased.

"And how do I know you aren't lying now?" Alfred asked as they reached the tea shop, holding the door open for Arthur like a dork.

"You don't, of course. But considering my avid belief in vampires, and the fact that I've broached the topic several times already-"

"So does that mean _you_ are a vampire?"

"Vampirism isn't genetic, Alfred. And even if it was, it would be impossible to be passed down by vampires that were _turned_, so to speak."

"So if a vampire was born instead of bitten, _then_ they could have vampire children? But how was that vampire born then?" Alfred asked, more confused than disturbed.

"Well, for that theory to work, there would have to be some form of original, or 'master' vampire so to speak. That vampire would be the first that turned all the others. And if _that_ vampire had children, then supposedly those children would also be vampires…"

"I'm confused…"

"Well, it's all theories and guesswork, really. Not even vampires know where vampires come from."

"And you know this because… you're actually saying your great-great-however-many-greats grandfather _was_ a vampire?" Alfred asked sceptically, "How would you even know something like that?"

"Stories passed down through my family since then."

"Not all stories are true, dude."

"Yes, but some of them are," Arthur grinned at him, "And vampires _are _immortal, so you can do the math."

"You're saying you're great grandpa still actually lives there?" Alfred asked, horrified. The waitress came over to give them their drinks.

"I'm saying that a vampire does live there, yes," Arthur took a sip of his tea, as if they were discussing something casual, like the weather or sports.

Alfred, on the other hand, couldn't even muster up enough courage to pick up his cup of coffee.

"D-does he drink _blood?_"

"Vampires drink blood, Alfred. So yes," he said calmly, "Does that bother you?"

"I don't even know if I believe that you're actually being serious…" Alfred said, face pale.

"If I were serious, would it bother you?"

"Well, that would mean you have a creepy old guy living in your basement… A creepy old _vampire_ at that…"

"First of all, it's a cellar. The fact that it's underground is irrelevant. And second of all, why would you assume creepy and old?"

"Well, if they built that house, then that's at least 200 years. 200 years is old."

Arthur snorted.

"And vampires are creepy. So there. Old and creepy."

"So you would opposed to being introduced then?"

"To the vampire living in your basement?" Alfred asked, chest feeling heavy with dread, "I mean, it would be cool and all, but… I mean, assuming you're even serious- because I still don't think you are."

Arthur chuckled, "Ah, well. Perhaps you'll believe me eventually," he said. After a moment giving Alfred a careful once-over. He shook his head absent mindedly.

"So…" Alfred began, breaking the short silence, "changing topics here, you said we would discuss your requirements today…"

"It's not as much of a topic change as you might think, Alfred…"

"Is your requirement that I have to meet your creepy vampire uncle?"

"Grandfather, and no. I still haven't decided if I want to tell you about it or not."

"C'mon! You have to at least tell me!"

"Technically, no, I do not," Arthur pointed out, hurriedly taking the last gulp of his tea, "Our date tomorrow- Saturday. We'll talk then," he added, standing up.

"Wha-? Why?"

"It's getting dark. And you still have groceries to get, don't you?"

"Y-yeah, but I hardly see what that has to do with anything. If I didn't know any better, I might say you were trying to get rid of me…"

Arthur smiled, "Of course not, love. I don't think it's too wise for you to stay out after dark is all. You do recall what happened the night we first met, don't you?"

Alfred shuddered, "Yeah…"

"Oh… speaking of which, you normally walk alone Marylebone Road to get home, yes?  
"Yeah…?"

"I wouldn't recommend it today. I saw some shady looking-guys camping out there this morning. I'd imagine they're still there."

"Oh… okay, thanks… I'll take York or something then…"

Arthur nodded, "Alright, love," he narrowed his eyes, but Alfred was oblivious to the change of expression, "Get home safe…"

* * *

Alfred made his way home after picking up the groceries. He had five bags in each hand, carrying them like they were nothing, even though the plastic was stretching to its limits.

He'd followed Arthur's advice of staying off of Merylebone, and turned onto York like he'd said. Other than that, he'd thought nothing of Arthur's warning.

That is, until further down the road he heard the shuffling of feet and what sounded like shoes being dragged across asphalt.

Alfred paused, heart beating just a little bit quicker. He kept walking, keeping his movements slow and quiet. He heard the shuffle again, this time along with what sounded like someone attempting- and failing- to hit someone in the face.

Alfred picked up the pace, walking rather loudly towards the side street the noises were coming from. He heard the shuffle again, this time accompanied by what sounded like the strangled sobs of a woman.

He was shaking. His heart was pounding and his skin felt like ice had settled on his arms. He walked a little bit faster, hoping that when he walked by the street, he'd only see lusty teenagers shagging in the street.

The street was only a few metres away. There was a sudden scream and Alfred jumped back. There was no way that was the sound of pleasure. He dropped his bags and ran forward to confront whatever was happening.

A sense of dread suddenly pooled in Alfred's stomach and he suddenly felt heavy, glued to the spot by his own weight.

Not five metres down the street, back against the wall, Arthur Kirkland was holding the struggling woman against him, teeth buried in her neck, blood pouring down the side of her neck into her shirt.

She struggled against him weakly, barely seeming to have the strength to hold herself upright if it weren't for Arthur holding her in place.

Arthur hadn't seemed to notice Alfred- too petrified to move from the spot- his intense green gaze much more focused on the woman's convulsing body. Slowly, her body laxed, head resting back on Arthur's shoulder, eyes staring into space as her body gasped a final time.

Her body didn't move- proof that for the past few minutes the only way she'd been staying upright is because Arthur had held her there.

After a few moments, Arthur withdrew his fangs from the girl's neck with a sickening squelch that made Alfred's stomach churn in disgust. He managed to shuffle his foot back a bit, loud against the pavement.

Arthur's head shot up, his intense gaze suddenly meeting Alfred's, fangs still visible and blood dripping from them in generous amounts. Alfred took another few steps back. Arthur's gaze softened in recognition. He knelt down to lay the girl against the wall before standing back up and taking a cautious step towards Alfred.

Alfred- in turn- took seven steps backward, and- forgetting he was still on the pavement- stumbled backward over the curb and fell on his back in the road.

Alfred looked up to see Arthur taking several hurried steps towards him, blood still dripping from his mouth.

Alfred scrambled to his feet and darted down the road- completely forgetting his groceries in the process.

When he'd gotten halfway down the street, he slowed a bit to glance behind him. Arthur had come out of the sidestreet and was staring after him. He was too far away to read the expression on his face, but Alfred could still see the thick trail of blood running down his chin.

Alfred ran a little faster, his heart soaring as he turned the corner onto Baker Street. He kept running, subconsciously turning his head as he passed another street. There was someone walking on the other side.

_'Shit. ShitShitShitShitShitShitSHIT!'_ Alfred thought, running a little faster, even though his legs were starting to protest.

He raced across the street when he got closer to his flat, tripping on the curb and scratching his face against the pavement. He hurriedly unlocked the front door, quickly glancing over his shoulder ever few seconds until he got inside.

He slammed the door shut behind him and relocked it. The house was completely empty. He was shaking. He quickly went to make sure the window in his room was locked as well.

When he came back out he almost expected Arthur to be sitting at the table, sipping a cup of tea, waiting for him.

He wasn't there, of course.

Finally, Alfred slumped down, arms shaking and clutching the sides of his shirt- panicked tears just starting to roll down his cheek. He wasn't going to sleep tonight. He couldn't…


	8. Chapter 8

Alfred had spent most of the night restless and paranoid. Every car that passed was a hissing vampire, every creak and moan of the apartment was a woman's dying gasp. When the air conditioning had turned on in the middle of the night, Alfred had flung a pillow at the noise and tripped over the coffee table trying to flee.

He wasn't going to sleep. He couldn't. He had to stay vigilant.

In the morning, however he found himself groggily waking from the couch, the smell of pancakes drifting over from the connected kitchen area.

"Uggggh," he moaned, wiping some drool off the pillow he was clutching.

"So you're finally up…" Matthew said from the kitchen, "Any particular reason you're sleeping on the couch?"

Alfred didn't say anything. He knew as soon as he opened his mouth Matt would know something was wrong. So instead he made a show of tiredly getting off the couch and sitting at the table before muttering, "I wasn't supposed to fall asleep…"

He had to decide now if he was going to tell Matthew about what happened. If he stayed quiet any longer than this, then he'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble later. But if he told him right away. I mean, would Matt even believe him? And if he did, what would happen to Arthur?

Alfred sighed. He squinted at Matt. He wasn't usually awake until noon… _Oh, shit._

"Matt, quick, what time is it?"

"Almost twelve," Matthew said, suspiciously.

"Shit!" Alfred said getting up. Alfred was supposed to be at the tea shop at noon for his date with Arthur…

_Arthur… _

Did he even still want to meet him? What would happen to him if he did?

Alfred shook the foreboding thought from his head. He walked towards the door.

"I had a meeting at noon. I hope my boss is still there…" Alfred explained his lie quickly before he opened the door.

"Before you go," Matt shouted at him before he could get out the door, "any particular reason you decided to leave the groceries outside?"

Alfred's blood ran cold.

"Wha-? On... on the doorstep?" Alfred asked, trying not to sound nearly as panicked as he was. Matthew nodded. Of course. Arthur knew where he lived didn't he? Alfred tried to sound calm as he replied, "I must'a forgot them outside when I unlocked the door. Oops."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, you're lucky the milk didn't spoil before I got home."

Alfred walked out the door and expected to see Arthur Kirkland standing outside, smiling with pointed teeth, with a bag of groceries and blood pouring out of it whispering, _'You forgot these,'_

Alfred closed the door behind him and shuddered.

It was sunny out today. The weather the past few days had been. It was uncharacteristically bright and cheery. It was unbearably ironic for Alfred.

Despite his concern about what awaited him there, Alfred jogged to the little café. He was late as it was, and he needed to talk to Arthur, even if common sense told him to stay way.

When he reached the tea shop, it was deserted. He could see the waitress inside, but there were no patrons. Alfred checked his phone. It was 12:09. He texted Arthur.

**_[To Eyebrows 12:07 PM 6/20/15]_**

_Uh… Hey Art. Did you leave already? I woke up late…_

Alfred waited a few minutes, but he got no response. He tried again.

**_[To Eyebrows 12:13 PM 6/20/15]_**

_You didn't lose your phone or something, did you? I hope your just not ignoring me, cux that's rude, lol._

**_[To Eyebrows 12:21 PM 6/20/15]_**

_Uh, about yesterday. I mean don't worry about it. I didn't tell Matt about it, so…_

**_[To Eyebrows 12:37 PM 6/20/15]_**

_Cmon, please don't ignore me. I don't know what you want me to say about it! Can't we at least talk about it?_

Alfred set his phone down. Clearly Arthur wasn't answering him. Alfred leaned back, squinting his eyes against the sun when a thought struck him.

**_[To Eyebrows 12:42 PM 6/20/15]_**

_It's not because of the sun, is it? I mean, I saw you in the sun before, so I didn't think it'd be a problem but… Hang on._

A long-ass walk across town later, Alfred knocked on the manor's door. Three big, loud, definitely-not-nervous knocks. He hoped Arthur would at least answer the door.

The door opened.

"Hello-?" Arthur stopped short. He looked a little groggy, but he looked well enough- and less pale than when Alfred last saw him…

"I…" Alfred couldn't look him in the eyes, "You weren't at the café, and you weren't answering your cell phone…" Alfred finally muttered.

"I… wasn't going to bother with it today…" Arthur said softly, as if trying to appear less frightening to Alfred in any way.

"You mean you were gonna ignore me all day," Alfred accused, at least twice as loud as Arthur had been.

"I hadn't planned on speaking to you today, so yes."

"Why the hell not?" Alfred almost shouted at him. Despite having been completely terrified the previous night, he was more than a little hurt that Arthur had just run off without even speaking to him. Actually, it rather reminded him of how on more than one occasion, dating partners of his disappeared without a trace. But this time he at least knew why. Maybe that's why he'd been able to chase after him. Maybe that's why he was so determined not to let him go… Surely that was why…

"I didn't imagine you'd particularly want to talk to me," Arthur muttered, trying in vain not to look hurt.

"Yeah, that's why I've been texting you trying to figure out where the hell you've been."

Since, they'd seemingly reached an impasse, Alfred changed direction.

"Look, Arthur, can I come in and then we can talk about… this whole thing… Okay?"

Arthur sighed before stepping aside and letting Alfred back into the manor, "You're really stubborn, you know that, right?"

"Of course," Alfred said, stepping into the old house, but not taking his eyes off of Arthur, "I have to pester you nonstop to get anything out of you."

"Indeed," Arthur closed the door behind them, "I'm starting to see why your mother locked you in the basement."

Alfred paused nervously for a moment. That was a rather ominous statement to say right as you close the door behind someone…

"Joking," Arthur clarified, then muttering quietly, "Sorry…"

"No, I… Uh… Sorry, I guess I just don't really know what to expect…" Alfred muttered, bunching handfuls of his shirt in his hands unconsciously.

"Would you like something to drink? Give your hands something to do while we talk?" Arthur said, gesturing to Alfred's hands which were all but tearing Alfred's shirt apart.

At the remark, Alfred suddenly snapped his hands back to his sides. He realized that Arthur could read him pretty well… But was that an Arthur thing, or a _vampire_ thing?

"Uh, yeah, coffee?" he asked hopefully.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "You're lucky that French bastard drinks the stuff." Arthur went off towards the kitchen, "If you want to sit in the living room while we talk, it's down the hall."

"I remember."

Alfred turned his back on Arthur for the first time since arriving and headed down the hall towards the living room. His eyes met with the door handle leading to the cellar steps and he slowed his pace. He considered briefly going down for a look, but he wasn't sure if Arthur had gone into the kitchen yet.

He turned his head. Arthur was grinning at him from the other hallway. Alfred turned around quickly, his cheeks flushed as he fast-walked into the living room. He thought he heard Arthur chuckle from across the hall.

Alfred had thought the living room was surprisingly modern. A medium brown leather couch and a matching loveseat sat across from a large, nearly new television (maybe 5 years old). In between was a small coffee table with a few coasters stacked near the edge.

Along the walls were several medium sized paintings of various things, but most of them had a warm, earthy tone. He particularly liked a sepia tone painting of the countryside, and another of a dense forest.

The walls were a darker shade of beige- some parts of which Alfred had repainted himself just the other day- and dark brown blackout curtains protected the furniture and walls from the sun- and apparently, Arthur as well.

Alfred sat down in the centre seat of the couch, not entirely wanting to sit next to Arthur just yet, and hoping he would get the message and take the loveseat.

Alfred twisted his hands nervously, and silently thanked Arthur for offering him something to drink. Eventually he settled for crossing his arms, and hoping Arthur wouldn't notice him pulling at the edges of his shirt.

Not long after, Arthur came into the room with a rather large coffee mug and a much smaller teacup. He set the tea down first, as it was safely situated on a plate already, and then pulled out one of the coasters before setting the mug down on it.

"I apologize if the quality is lacking, it's been a long time since I've had to make a cup of coffee," Arthur explained as he sat down on the far end of the loveseat.

Alfred picked up the mug, nodding slightly.

"I… I guess I just have a few questions to start with… If that's alright," Alfred added nervously.

"Of course, anything."

"So," Alfred began slowly, "you're… a vampire?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I thought we'd established that."

"I'm just… clarifying…"

"Alfred, forgive my rudeness, but if you're going to take that long asking your questions, do you mind if I get the first few out of the way?" Arthur asked him, a little cautiously. Alfred shrugged. Arthur took a deep breath and began,

"Yes, I'm a vampire; yes, I drink blood; yes, the sun is bothersome; no, it's not likely to kill me; yes, I'm immortal; yes, I have to be invited into a house; and no, I don't sleep in the cellar. Did I miss anything important?"

Alfred thought through it, his mind trying to keep up.

"Uh, can you read minds, and can you turn into a bat?"

"No, and no. Anything else?"

"I think… that covers the basics… for now anyway…" Alfred did have one other pressing question, but he didn't quite have the voice for it just yet.

"Onto specifics then?"

"Yeah… Um, the sun?" Alfred asked.

Arthur stood up and walked over to one of the large blackout curtains drawing it back. He blinked at the light, but other than that he showed no signs of pain or discomfort due to the light resting on his skin- which was _definitely _significantly less pale than it had been the other day.

"It's certainly not comfortable, although other than a sunburn it can't really do any physical damage unless I were to do something stupid like fall asleep out there," Arthur let the curtain fall back into place as he sat back down on the loveseat, "The more pressing concern with the sun is that it drains my energy reserves which means I would have to feed sooner."

"And how often do you… _feed?_" Alfred asked with a shudder.

"It varies some, but it's usually just under twice a month."

"T-twice…?" Alfred murmured unintentionally before swallowing heavily and turning away, "S-sorry, that just seems like a lot…"

"I suppose it is," Arthur let out a tense sigh.

"Do they always…? I mean do they…? Do you…?" Alfred let out a shaky sigh before continuing quietly, "Do… do you have to kill them?"

"Strictly speaking, no, it's not necessary. But it's a little difficult to do something like that without getting caught after you let them go. No witnesses just makes it a lot easier."

Alfred took a long deep breath before continuing, "What about me? Am I…? Am I food?"

"No," Arthur said immediately, "Definitely not. I can assure you, you're completely safe in my company."

"Okay." Alfred let out the breath he'd been holding.

"You were going to ask that earlier, weren't you?"

"You're sure you can't read minds?" Alfred chuckled, still a little tense.

"Positive. But being alive as long as I have, I've learned to pick up on things," Arthur paused before continuing, "There are a lot of things I can tell about you right now without having to ask- most of them related to how well you're taking all this."

"And am I taking it well?"

"Extremely. I'm actually rather impressed."

"Well, I think on some level I knew that you weren't going to hurt me…" Alfred sighed tensely.

"But there's still something bothering you?"

"Yeah, well, there is one thing… in movies and books and stuff…" Alfred looked up in hopes Arthur would answer without him having to finish.

"Alfred, I promise you I can't read minds, and I have no idea what you're talking about. You're going to have to give me a bit more before I can guess what you're getting at. There is- after all- a _lot_ of lore about vampires."

"Well…" Alfred opened his mouth, closed it again, swallowed, and started again, "Like, if I were to get a paper cut or something… would that be…? I mean, would you…?"

"Would I lose all semblance of my humanity and jump on you like a crazed animal? No."

"That's not something that happens, then?"

Arthur paused a little, as if cautious about how to phrase something.

"No… not… not quite, anyway… It's not something that you'd ever have to worry about, but if a vampire were extremely dry- that is to say if they hadn't had blood for a long time-… well… judgement does become a bit blurred, yes, but even then there's enough common sense to keep oneself from doing anything they'd regret later."

"But… that's not something I have to worry about?"

"No. It takes a long time to start to lose one's judgement, and longer still for it to actually become a problem. And again, even then I still have my judgement- it's just a little more focused on staying alive."

When Alfred didn't say anything, Arthur continued a little nervously,

"Ah… F-for example, at my lowest point, I had once let two girls go because I knew I'd either have to kill them both or risk being caught…"

Alfred chuckled lightly.

"I wasn't getting nervous, Arthur. I was just thinking is all," he smiled- a genuine smile, at that- "You don't need to get so defensive."

"Perhaps I can't read you quite as well as I had thought," Arthur allowed, his face lightening.

"Well, being that you _were_ planning on ignoring me all day because you thought I wouldn't want to talk to you…" Alfred teased.

"Well, you _did_ run…"

"I fell on my back and you were coming closer- blood dripping down your face, I might add- I panicked. _Anyone_ would have done that in the situation."

"No, _anyone_ would have run and never come back. You certainly aren't anyone…"

Alfred smiled big. That was probably more of a compliment than he'd gotten out of Arthur so far.

Alfred set his mug of coffee back on its coaster (it was only half empty, as Alfred's stomach was still slightly churning with nerves, but he was done with it so back on the coaster it went), and walked over to sit next to Arthur on the loveseat, draping his arm over the protesting brit.

"I take it your 'requirements' had something to do with the whole vampire thing?"

Arthur had quit struggling and allowed Alfred's arm to stay where it was. Ultimately, it was more physical contact than the two of them had really had before and it wasn't entirely unwelcome.

"They did. You just had to know about it, really…"

Alfred leaned in over Arthur, resting his hand next to Arthur's on the armrest.

"So? How about that dating thing?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Well, you do meet my requirements, so I suppose… I wouldn't be opposed…"

Arthur's voice grew a quieter as Alfred leaned in to kiss him. It was slow, and a little more than chaste, dragging Arthur's lower lip with him as he pulled back.

"But if you think you're getting anywhere near a bed with me, you're sadly mistaken," Arthur clarified, not oblivious to the slight tent in Alfred's pants.

"I'm fine with the couch," Alfred smirked, leaning in for another kiss. Arthur hit him with one of the throw pillows on the loveseat.

"Absolutely not!" Arthur shoved him off lightly, "You have no sense of tact, do you?"

Despite several of Matthew's jokes about Alfred when it came to sex, Alfred backed off, settling on the other side of the loveseat, still facing Arthur.

"Probably not, but you're stuck with me now," Alfred laughed.

Arthur just held back a smile and shook his head.

**((_PLEASE READ:_ If you have any questions about the exact rules of Arthur's vampirism, review with it because next chapter I'm starting off with a whole bunch of questions from Alfred so you guys will have a general idea of the exact parameters of the kind of vampires in this story- since no two authors write vampires the same way (hell, I have about half a dozen "vampire headcanons"- most of which conflict with each other XD) I'll keep working on the chapter, but I won't publish it until... IDK, let's say Saturday (May 16th). And if you write a review with a question, and then you think of another one, feel free to message me either here or on my Tumblr (DemonWolf37) and I'll either add it in to the next chapter or answer it in the author's notes for you.**

**((On that note, do you think I should create an Ask Vampire!USUK blog for this story? I have a lot of information that will never be actually put into the story and a blog would be a cool way to add that information in...))**


	9. Chapter 9

After calling Matt, telling him that his boss wanted to have their meeting over dinner since he'd missed the lunch meeting, Alfred spent the remainder of the day with Arthur, mostly rattling off questions about his vampirism at an alarming rate.

"So you _actually_ have to be invited into a house? How does that even work? What if someone pushes you inside? Does the person inviting you have to actually own the house? What about businesses and like grocery stores? You don't have to be invited into those, right?"

"One question a time, Alfred," Arthur said as he set his tea down again. The two of them were sitting at Arthur's breakfast table. Arthur was enjoying another cup of tea while Alfred downed a plateful of small sandwiches, "For someone who doesn't like to talk about the supernatural, you sure do have a lot of questions…."

"Just answer. I'm a curious person."

"Clearly," Arthur muttered before moving on to answer Alfred's barrage of questions, "Being physically forced through a doorway counts as an invitation. The invitation doesn't have to come from the owner of the house or even the person who lives there. And if I had to be invited into businesses I'd never get any shopping done, so no."

"What about like hotel rooms and stuff?"

"Generally it's any place where people sleep."

"Why though?"

"There's a legend about a witch putting a curse on a vampire for double-crossing her- but no one really knows for sure. Vampire history starts to get a bit foggy after the first half millennium or so."

"Are there a lot of vampires?"

"There aren't very many, no. If you go by registered kills alone, there are just under 8,000- although there are undoubtedly vampires who use other means to obtain blood."

"Do I even want to know what these 'other means' are?"

"Probably not. Although, they're not all terrible. Some vampires spend a sickening amount of money for blood banks to look the other way. I personally could never live off of the blood bags; cold blood just doesn't sit well with me."

Alfred swallowed thickly. Arthur preferred _warm_ blood. Arthur registered Alfred's reaction but didn't comment on it.

"You mentioned witches?"

"Vampires aren't the only quote en quote 'supernatural' beings, no. But they're by far the most populous aside from witches."

"Why is that?"

"Well, vampires being immortal we're a lot harder to kill by petty means. Witches can stay hidden and aren't generally hunted in the first place, but as far as werewolves and goblins go… Well, for one they stand out and for two they're dumb. They're easy to hunt so they're slowly going extinct."

"But not vampires?"

"Any vampire that's alive right now has undoubtedly faced hunters more than a few times. That's the benefit of living so long. It takes years for a hunter to be fully trained and able to take down even a reckless vampire. In that way vampires will always have the upper hand."

"How long do vampires live?"

"It all depends on how careful they are. No one's ever heard of a vampire dying of old age, of course, but there aren't many vampires older than 700. And there are only three older than 1,000."

"What about you? How old are you?"

"Don't you think it's a little rude to be asking my age?"

"Not really."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Of course _you_ don't. All you really need to know is that I'm _much _too old for you."

"Yes, but _how_ too old are you?"

"You're pushing your luck, Alfred. Don't you have _other_ questions to be pestering me with?"

"Uh… just a few. Mirrors and crosses?"

"Both are ridiculous myths. _Everything_ has a reflection, and crosses- or any other holy symbol for that matter- have absolutely no effect on vampires. It's just something humans made up to feel safer."

"Okay, what about garlic, coffins, and wooden stakes?"

"Asking how to kill me already? That didn't take long."

"What? No, _no, _not like _that!_ I was only curious!"

"Relax, Alfred, I'm only joking," Arthur chuckled lightly, "Garlic- among various other herbs and spices- are slightly more effective than sunlight. Most vampires develop an allergy to them in addition to the nasty effects they have on vampires.

"The rumour about coffins started because villagers would frequently find vampires waking up from coffins. Vampires can enter a death-like state to heal more quickly or to simply avoid having to hunt. And where better to hide a near-dead body than in a coffin?

"As for the stakes- wooden or otherwise- technically any weapon than can remove or nearly completely destroy a vampire's heart can kill. Wooden stakes are some of the cheapest weapons able to kill vampires- but of course only if they're used correctly. You can stab a vampire as much as you like, but it's not likely to kill them unless you do it properly."

"What if someone shot you in the head?"

"Head wounds are different. Vampires are just as fragile as humans in that sense. But of course, the common folk didn't usually to have access to weapons that could pierce the skull so easily. It was a lot cheaper to just carve a piece of wood into a weapon and use that."

"Was that actually successful?"

"On some level, yes, I'm sure. Although, vampire hunters were almost non-existent back then. A vampire was far more likely to be ganged up on and burned than anything. It's idiotic to engage a vampire alone, so stakes were more for self-protection than actual hunting. These days hunters tend to prefer simple knives over anything else- at least here in England anyway. As long as they know how to use them against vampires they can be just as effective."

"Is it really that easy to kill a vampire?" Alfred asked quietly.

Arthur downright laughed.

"I'd hardly say it's easy, Alfred. Remember that as far as non-head-wounds go, it takes a lot of skill to severely injure- let alone kill- a vampire. Add a few centuries more of experience and it's practically impossible."

Alfred didn't say anything.

"Oh, please, Alfred. Don't give me that look. I haven't let a hunter get the drop on me for at least thirty years. Much longer than that if you don't count a few drunken slip-ups."

Alfred gave a suspicious _'Mmmm.'_ Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Don't you have _other_ questions for me?"

"I don't think so… I think that was it…"

"Really? I'm sure you'll think of more later."

"Oh, actually I do have one more. I can't believe I forgot it."

"Oh?"

"How does someone become a vampire?"

"That one's obvious isn't it?" Arthur flashed his fangs. "Vampire venom."

**((Sorry for the long wait and extra short chapter. Between school ending (I passed 5/6 of my classes! Yay!) and this chapter giving me serious writer's block, I couldn't manage to finish this one... This chapter ****_was_**** going to have actual plot, but at this point I'm just happy to get it "finished." Hopefully next chapter my writer's block will lessen up and I can get this story back on track!**

**((On a side note, I'll be starting up an Ask AU USUK art blog in which this story will be featured! It's not fully put together yet, but I do hope you'll visit it and ask a question or two! I'll announce when it's open for questions and the link will be on my FF profile, so please, don't be shy!))**


	10. Chapter 10

After being rather forcefully removed from Arthur's house, Alfred headed back to his and Matthew's flat. It was rather late and by the time he'd gotten there, Matthew had already gone out to do whatever it is he did at night.

He spent a few hours goofing off on tumblr, impulsively made a blog about his favourite DOSA comic book hero, made exactly seventeen posts, and then promptly forgot about it. He went to bed and fell asleep rather soundly just before eleven o'clock.

Alfred didn't have any plans with Arthur on Sunday, so he decided to get some sightseeing in before he had work the next day. He hadn't had a chance to be a proper tourist yet, and if he waited much longer he wasn't sure he could call himself a proper tourist anymore.

Matthew had already told Alfred that he wasn't allowed to spend any money on his sightseeing with the exceptions of getting a cab there and back, and he was allowed to ride "the big Ferris wheel" exactly once.

Alfred had already finished up all his free sightseeing and headed over to the queue for the London Eye. It was just starting to get dark, the sky turning from blue, to red, to purple as the sun set. On the way over, he passed a man who looked vaguely familiar, although for the life of him he couldn't place it.

So he did the logical thing.

He reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder and pointed at him, saying, "Wait, I know you... Right?"

" 'Fraid not, kid," the man answered gruffly, shaking his shoulder away.

The man walked off, but Alfred turned to watch after him. Alfred didn't recognise his _face_, per say, but he had an aura about him that just felt so very familiar.

So he did the logical thing.

He followed him. From a distance of course, since the man clearly didn't want him around. Alfred followed him for quite a ways before he realized he had no idea where he was anymore.

_'__Crap...'_ he thought to himself. The man was still a few metres away from him, he could just ask him where they were, but he figured he wouldn't be too happy to find out he'd been followed all this way. He was just about to turn around and start wandering back when he heard a voice call out,

"Alfred?"

Alfred turned towards the voice and saw Matthew looking at him with a concerned gaze, "What the hell are you doing all the way out here?"

"I had been heading to the line for the Ferris wheel, but I saw this guy and he looked familiar so I followed him."

Matthew shook his head, "You really know how to walk into trouble, don't you. Don't follow strangers into the night. I shouldn't have to tell you these things..." Matthew trailed off before muttering, "It's like looking after a five-year-old..."

Matthew led Alfred back to the house and Alfred got another lecture about not wandering off and stranger danger and all that. Sometimes Alfred _felt_ like a five-year-old the way Matthew treated him sometimes. Alfred knew he meant well, but _come on_.

* * *

On Monday, Alfred met Arthur again at the little cafe for their date.

"So how do you tell the difference between a vampire and a human?" Alfred asked curiously.

"Well, vampires have a softer heartbeat than humans do, and their normal body temperature is maybe a degree or two colder than a human's. Of course, if you're close enough to notice these things, then you're probably dead. Of course, a vampire can hear a human's heartbeat from several metres away, and vampires also give off a peculiar scent, so vampires can easily recognise each other in that sense."

"Are those the only ways to tell?"

"Well, no. Most vampires, and some humans can simply tell. It's hard to describe, but it's rather like-"

"Like a sixth sense? Like an odd sense of familiarity?"

"I... I suppose so, yes."

"In that case, I think I saw a vampire yesterday..." Alfred mumbled.

"What?" Arthur asked, surprised, "Where? When?"

"Near the, uh... the big Ferris Wheel- the London Eye. It was just before sunset. He seemed kind of familiar, although I know I'd never seen him before then. I followed him a ways before Matthew dragged me back to the house. Why?"

"Word of advice, Alfred," Arthur started tensely, "In the future do _not_ follow strange vampires who knows where- _especially _ at night. It's a good way to wind up dead..."

"Well, I didn't realize he was a vampire then. I only thought of it after Matthew took me home and I realized he kind of reminded me of you. I mean, he didn't _look_ anything like you, and he had a completely different air about him, but he just..."

"Gave off that sort of feeling?"

"Yeah."

Arthur sighed. "I hope you're not going to be more trouble than you're worth, Alfred. I'd hate to get attached to you only to find you dead... one... morning..." Arthur's breath caught and he trailed off.

"Gee, thanks." Alfred rolled his eyes, "Do you always measure people by what value they can be to you?"

"That's not what I meant, Alfred. I just don't want you to do something stupid and get yourself killed. I'm actually surprised you were stupid enough to follow him in the first place. Weren't you the least bit frightened?"

"Like I said, I didn't even start to think he was a vampire until after I got home."

"No, but weren't you in the least bit worried about the sense of dread radiating off his person?"

"I didn't really get a sense of dread. He just seemed familiar. He just kind of seemed like you."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. He checked his watch. Alfred would have to leave for work in 15 minutes. He had enough time.

"Come with me," was all Arthur said before he dragged Alfred out of the cafe and down the street. Alfred protested lightly, but more or less allowed Arthur to drag him god knows where. Finally, Arthur turned down an alleyway.

"Where are we going?" Alfred asked, thoroughly confused.

Not a moment later, Arthur stopped and leaned against the wall pulling Alfred's back against him and holding him in place- although leaving his arms free. With his other hand he pulled Alfred's head to one side and placed his lips on his neck.

Alfred froze, but he didn't struggle.

Arthur opened his mouth and grazed his fangs along Alfred's neck. Alfred tensed up, but again didn't struggle.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asked, cautious but not afraid.

"Aren't you afraid?" Arthur whispered close to Alfred's ear, sending a shiver down his spine- albeit for a completely different reason than Arthur was hoping for.

"Of _you?_" Alfred almost laughed, raising an eyebrow, "No. Not even a little."

"_Alfred,_" Arthur said in a scolding tone before sighing. "You can recognise vampires at a distance, but you're not the least bit afraid. _Instinctually_, you should be afraid."

"I know you're not going to hurt-"

"It doesn't matter. Whatever you think you know, instinct overrules. Alfred... there's something wrong with you."

"What, just because I'm not afraid of vampires?" Alfred asked, leaning his head back against Arthur in order to get glance at his face. He looked concerned- maybe even a little afraid.

"But the thing is, you _are_ afraid. You're not just so dumb to not realize I'm a predator- you saw what I can do."

Alfred shifted uncomfortably as he realized the position he was in was _very_ similar to that girl whom Arthur had… Alfred's heart beat a tiny bit faster.

"See, now that," Arthur started, placing a hand on Alfred's chest over his heart, "is an appropriate response to fear. But that's not an instinctual response to a _vampire_ holding you against your will," he said, drawing his lips close to Alfred's neck before releasing him entirely, "Sorry, I just wanted to test my theory out."

"It's fine, I don't mind," Alfred shrugged, "But why does it matter, exactly?"

Arthur quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What? _You're_ not going to hurt me, and I now that I know how to recognize them, I won't go wandering off after strange vampires anymore. So no harm done, right?"

Arthur grinned a little, shaking his head, "You're like a baby calf that's never seen a wolf before."

**((So, that's it for the special (not-so-special-after-all) release of this chapter! Why is is special do you ask? Well, technically speaking it's not, but this chapter has been released along with the opening of my new art/ask blog on Tumblr: "ask-au-usuk . tumblr . com" ! Exciting! It is officially open for questions today, so I hope you check it out and ask a question or two for the USUK dorks! :D **

**((Also, sorry this chapter is so short. For some reason in my mind this chapter played out a lot longer than it actually ended up being...))**


	11. Chapter 11

The week passed without event, and soon it was Friday[JP1] . Alfred didn't have any work to do that day, and after finishing up his and Arthur's "extra special extended date!" he went back home around noon, just as Matthew was leaving for work.

"Alfred?" he tilted his head in confusion, "didn't you leave for work this morning?"

Shit.

"Uh…"

Lie, lie, lie your ass off or you're dead, Jones. Dead.

"Uh, no, I didn't have work today, so I went shopping," he fabricated his excuse quickly, and just as quickly saw the glaring flaw in it. As did Matthew.

"Where's the shopping?"

"Well, I- uh… Left the shopping list at home, so I came back to get it."

"You've been at the store for four hours and you only just realized you forgot the list?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I'd call you out on your lie, but I'm late for work as it is. We'll talk about this when I get home tonight. When you do actually get the shopping, remember to pick up maple syrup- we're out."

"What? I bought you two containers last week!"

Matthew just shrugged as he headed off to work, leaving Alfred to figure out what to say to Matthew when he got back. He knew he was lying. And if he didn't come up with a good reason as to why pretty quick, he'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble later- and he'd likely get Arthur in trouble too.

The thought of Matthew and Arthur in the same room together sent a shiver up Alfred's spine- although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He just got the feeling that it was a confrontation better avoided, and left it at that.

Alfred picked up the shopping list off the fridge and headed out to the store. Hopefully by the time he got back he'd have a good enough excuse to keep Matthew off Arthur's trail and out of harms way.

By the time Matthew got home, Alfred had a story ready. It wasn't a very good story, but it would keep Matthew from finding out about Arthur, and that would have to be good enough.

"So, mind telling me where you really were this morning?"

Alfred sighed quietly. He didn't want to play it up too much, but he wanted Matthew to think he was reluctant to divulge this information.

"I was out with a friend," he began faux cautiously.

Matthew raised an eyebrow at 'friend'.

"Just a friend," Alfred assured, "And… well, he took me out drinking."

"You went drinking at goddamned seven in the morning?" Matthew asked suspiciously.

"I wanted to get back after you left, but I undershot it a bit, and you were running late, so…"

Matthew rolled his eyes, "You could have just told me. In fact, I would have rather you'd told me. Who is this friend that took you out drinking?"

"One of the guys from work…" Alfred 'admitted' (aka, lied).

"I might want a word with them later…" Matthew muttered, mostly to himself.

"So… we good?" Alfred asked carefully.

"Is that it?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Matthew narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway, "Yeah, we're good."

With the threat of Matthew finding out about Arthur terminated, Alfred let out a mental sigh of relief. Matthew could go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye when he wanted to, and when it came to Alfred's dates he usually wanted to.

The rest of the evening passed and soon the sun began to dip behind the horizon. While Alfred was lazily browsing Gamestop's website, Matthew was out and about prowling the streets.

The night roads were quiet and seemingly deserted aside from Matthew and his thin shadow which flittered along the pavement beside him as he passed each streetlight.

Tonight, it would appear Matthew would be lucky in his pursuits. Two shadows fell in behind Matthew's, side by side and keeping their distance.

Matthew recognized their presence, but feigned ignorant until one of them moved closer. At last one of them- the heavier one by the sound of their footprints- quickened their pace noticeably. The man shuffled his feet and Matthew immediately turned around, a surprised look forced onto his face.

The man stared back at him with a threatening look. This time Matthew didn't take the time to lure them in and took off bolting.

The heavier man started running after him but the shorter one stopped him.

"Don't bother, they'll be plenty to drink when we get there."

The heavier man groaned but halted his pursuit.

Matthew's curiosity was piqued- having overheard this small comment from the alleyway he had ducked down. The two men were undoubtedly vampires, that much was sure. But where they were going… Could it possibly be?

However, by the time he had gathered his thoughts up enough to poke his head out of the alleyway, the two men were out of sight. He spent another hour searching the area to be sure, but alas, the two vampires were nowhere to be found.

Those had been the only vampires Matthew had seen all night, and they weren't even interested in hunting him. This left few explanations, and Matthew cursed, realizing he'd lost a great opportunity in letting them go- unintentionally, of course.

He reluctantly took out his cell phone and created a new note:

_'__June 26?'_ was all it said.


	12. Chapter 12

**((Okay, so upon rereading the beginning of this, we're just going to pretend that it was just as decently-written as this is. We're not going to mention how poorly-written or cliche the first chapter is either. Okay? *sobs in a corner*)) **

The next day, Alfred invited himself over to Arthur's house and began pounding furiously on the door at precisely 7:21 in the morning.

Arthur answered the door with a glare and dark bags under his eyes.

"Alfred," he began, "do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

"Just before 7:30, which means my brother is officially gone for the weekend, and I shall be spending it with you!" Alfred replied cheerily.

Arthur grabbed his arm and dragged him sharply inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He forced Alfred against the wall, hands curled into his shirt and leaning in lightly.

"_Never_ wake me up before eight again," he warned, releasing Alfred and turning to stalk back up the stairs, "I'm going back to bed. Don't even think about coming to get me unless the house suddenly catches fire."

"Not much of a morning person?" Alfred asked, chuckling nervously. The glare Arthur sent back was answer enough.

Alfred kept himself busy while Arthur continued resting. He explored the entire first floor, even spending a bit of time browsing Arthur's collection of books in the library. Most of the books were old and well-kept, but there were a few brand new books as well, with bright colours and words. Alfred all but laughed when he found a copy of _Twilight_ shoved in the back of one of the shelves- along with several other vampire novels that Arthur had deemed unworthy of gracing his shelves.

He did consider going down into the cellar, but the lingering fear from before kept him safely above ground. Maybe he would ask Arthur what was actually down there later.

Two hours later, Arthur emerged from the upper floor to find Alfred sprawled out on his couch enjoying a hot chocolate and watching TV looking very much like he owned the place.

"If you spill a single drop of that on my couch, I'll never forgive you," Arthur warned from the doorway.

"Arthur! You finally woke up!" Alfred called, sitting up and carefully setting down the hot chocolate on a coaster on the table before patting the seat next to him on the couch.

Arthur sat next to him, reluctantly allowing Alfred to put his arms around him.

"You should know better than to wake up a vampire that early in the morning," he said, the tiredness still evident in his voice. "Now what did you say you were doing here?"

"Hehe, sorry, I was just excited to see you. Matthew is going on a trip somewhere this weekend, so I thought I'd use the opportunity to spend some time with you without him worrying about where I am."

"I see," Arthur mumbled dumbly, "And you couldn't have told me about this sooner?"

"I only just found out last night. And it was like 2 AM, so I didn't want to bother you."

"I would have much preferred you told me while I was still awake rather than waking me up when the sun is out."

"What were you doing awake at 2 AM?"

"I'm a vampire, Alfred. It's far easier to stay awake during the night than it is during the day. The real question, is why you were awake at 2 AM, and still managed to wake up at 7:30 and be as cheerful as you are…"

"Actually, I've been awake since six…"

Arthur scoffed, "You're far too much of a morning person, Alfred," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes, leaning his head unconsciously against Alfred's shoulder, "I can't remember the last time I woke up with the sun…"

"Probably before you became a vampire, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," Arthur murmured, his eyes starting to close again, "probably."

Alfred laughed a little, "You know, you don't look like such a bitter old man when you're sleepy," he hummed, "It's almost cute."

"Don't make me laugh," Arthur replied lazily, "We both know I could tear your throat out at a moment's notice if I wanted to," although there was not power behind the threat.

Alfred laughed, planting a quick kiss on the vampire's hair before he had time to protest, "Yeah, I know."

They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Alfred was lazily playing with Arthur's hair and basically looking like a sappy love struck puppy, and Arthur, who was mostly too tired to care, let him.

Arthur didn't stop Alfred even after he began to truly wake up, although he did complain more.

"What exactly are you doing, Alfred?" Arthur gestured to Alfred's hand in his hair.

"Your hair. It's soft," Alfred said simply.

"Thank you for the information. Why are you touching it?"

"I like it. It doesn't feel nice?"

"I-" Arthur paused, thinking about it, "I suppose it does…"

"See? Then it's good," Alfred murmured, kissing the man's head again. Arthur made a disgusted face. "What, you don't like me kissing you?"

"Do you have to do it in such a strange manor?"

"What's strange about it?"

"It's a very strange place to kiss someone…" Arthur muttered.

Alfred downright laughed, "When was the last time you went on a date, Artie?"

"That's _Arthur_. And maybe five or ten years."

"Let me rephrase that. When was the last time you went on a date with someone you actually liked?"

"Maybe… twenty or thirty years?"

"Uh-huh. And when's the last time you actually enjoyed being in someone's presence?"

Arthur paused and Alfred just raised an eyebrow.

"Just over two centuries," Arthur sighed. If Alfred had been drinking something, he would have choked on it.

"_Two_ centuries?" Alfred asked, "Is that a long time for you or…?"

"A little," Arthur admitted.

"Well… it's about time you enjoyed yourself on a date. And these days, chilling out on a couch and cuddling is considered romantic."

"I was quite aware of that. What you _don't_ seem to be aware of is that we haven't been dating that long."

"Over a week!"

"That's not very long, Alfred."

"Maybe for you, but I'll have you know that most people-" Alfred trailed off.

"Most people only date for a week before this sort of thing?"

"No… well, yeah usually, but," Alfred stuck his chin on Arthur's shoulder, "most people would have dumped me by now. Or disappeared without a word, or otherwise left me."

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe I just have really bad luck when it comes to love."

"I'd hardly call anything that short 'love'."

"_What?_" Alfred exclaimed, peering into Arthur's face, "Does that mean you don't love me?"

"I hardly know you."

"But I love _you!_"

Arthur scoffed, "You hardly know _me_."

Alfred paused. There was a large part of him that wanted to drop this line of conversation and just make out with Arthur- a _very_ large part- but he figured Arthur wouldn't take too well to that just yet. He probably also wouldn't take very well to Alfred continuing this argument. So with a defeated sigh, he leaned down and rested his head in Arthur's lap.

"Dear god, what are you doing now?" Arthur asked, panicked.

"I'm resting my head in your lap," Alfred responded plainly.

"I can see that. _Why?_"

"Because it's comfy?"

Arthur shifted uncomfortably, "Alfred, listen," he sighed, "don't you think this is a little fast?"

"Not really."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I _mean_, I don't think we should rush into all the 'romantic' things just yet. I mean, we haven't known each other all too long."

"Dude, it's been almost a month since we met. I _think_ I know you pretty well."

"Oh really?"

"Yep! Your favourite normal drink is tea, you hate the mornings- but you'll still wake up for me. You prefer _warm_ blood- and you know exactly how much that freaks me out… And at some point you've read Twilight and then stashed it in the back of your bookshelf."

"Well, I can't say you're wrong on those accounts, but I'm not sure that counts as _knowing_ me. It takes more than a few facts to know a person. You have to know about their character as a person."

"Fine, you're a stubborn old man and you always think you're right. How about that?" Alfred stuck out his tongue.

"You're getting closer," Arthur grinned.

Ultimately, Arthur let Alfred lay on him for one or two more hours while they chatted about this and that. Despite what he had said, Arthur warmed up rather quickly to Alfred's 'romantic' shenanigans, and even seemed to enjoy it once he stopped complaining.

"Have you eaten?" Arthur asked him suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I was wondering if you were hungry; it's just about lunch time."

"Y'know, it's pretty creepy when _you_ say that," Alfred commented.

"I thought you weren't afraid of vampires," Arthur smirked.

"I'm not. I'm just saying that it's creepy."

"You never answered, you know."

"I could eat. I mean, I skipped breakfast, so…"

"Why am I not surprised? Do you want me to make you something?"

"Do you keep actual food here?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I do actually eat on occasion."

"But you don't need to?"

"Not as often, no."

Alfred gave a soft hum as he sat up, allowing Arthur to stand. Alfred rolled over onto his belly on the couch and gave Arthur a sharp grin.

"Go make me a sandwich, wench!"

Arthur smacked him.

* * *

Alfred sat on the couch, nursing his wounded head. Arthur had hit him pretty hard. He was just about to go into the kitchen to ask Arthur what was taking so long when he smelt something funny.

Alfred sat up suddenly, noticing a thin layer of dark smoke drifting into the room. He shot up, running through the halls towards the kitchen. The smoke grew thicker the closer he got.

"Arthur!" he shouted into the room- which was nearly pitch black with smoke. He coughed.

"Go back!" he heard Arthur call back, coughing afterwards.

"Jesus fucking christ! Open a window!" Alfred charged in, reaching for one of the manor's windows, coughing with each step. As soon as he got it open, the air stared to clear some and he could see Arthur standing sheepishly by the oven- which was still emitting thick ebony smoke.

"What the hell did you do?" Alfred asked, marching over to wave some of the smoke away from him.

"I was just going to toast your sandwich…" Arthur whispered, seemingly shocked.

"You should know that that oven's a death trap. How old is that thing?"

"Two hundred years…"

"You haven't replaced that thing since you built the house?" Alfred asked, astonished, still waving the smoke towards the window.

"I hardly ever use it…"

"I can see that. Judging by the smell, I think something was living in there. Whatever it was got burned alive…"

Arthur gulped. Once the smoke cleared some more, Alfred picked up the slightly burnt sandwich and plopped it on a plate.

"Well, at least the sandwich is okay. For all that smoke I would have thought there'd be nothing left of it."

"Sorry," Arthur muttered.

"Hey, it's cool. Don't worry about it," Alfred reassured, "Anyway, maybe we should eat outside?"

They sat outside under one of Arthur's patio umbrellas- which Alfred refused to stop laughing at. The air outdoors was particularly hot, but they stayed outside to avoid the smoke filled house.

The sky started to redden as the sun dipped, and Alfred offered to make dinner- not that there was anything wrong with Arthur cooking…

Alfred opened the pantry door and found the _fairly large_ room to be practically void of food. Alfred blinked at it a few times, wondering if he hadn't gotten the storage closet instead of a pantry.

"Arthur?" he called to the other, "You said you did actually keep food in this house, right?"

Arthur appeared beside him, leaning on the door frame lightly.

"I do. But I haven't had to keep the pantry fully stocked for quite a while. You can guess how many human visitors I have."

Alfred shuddered, "Because normally if you invite a human over, you won't have to be feeding them?"

Arthur glared at him, "I do _not_ invite humans over for _'dinner'_, if that's what you're implying. I prefer to do my hunting as far from my house as possible. I only meant that I don't have a lot of visitors."

"Remind me to take you shopping tomorrow, 'cause if I'm going to be visiting you frequently, I'd like it if you had actual food available."

"You could always start drinking blood. I have plenty of that."

Alfred glanced back at the pantry with a gulp. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Not there, moron. Anyway, just pick something out, we can go shopping tomorrow if you like."

"Remind me not to open your fridge," Alfred mumbled, mostly to himself before picking up a can of soup. The can looked pretty old and he didn't recognise the brand, but soup didn't spoil, right?

"Not in the fridge either, love," Arthur all but sang as he retreated back into the kitchen.

Alfred followed, and went to find a can opener and a pot.

"That reminds me, I meant to ask you, but what do you actually keep in that cellar of yours? I mean, clearly you don't sleep down there."

"No, I don't- I told you that already. Mostly just alcohol, but there are a few _'vampire'_ things down there as well."

Alfred stopped looking suspiciously at the stove to glance back at Arthur.

"Like what?"

"A lot of it is just mementos from ages ago, but there is actually a coffin down there."

"There is?" Alfred started taking apart the stove when Arthur nodded at him. "Do you ever use it?"

"Not usually, no. It's just in case something happens, really. So I take it you didn't go exploring down there while I was sleeping this morning?"

Alfred looked away sheepishly, "No, I didn't. To be perfectly honest I was too afraid to look."

"You know, sometimes I'm afraid I'll never understand how your fear works," Arthur sighed, walking over beside Alfred who stayed concentrated on cleaning out the inside of the oven, "You're afraid of the cellar because of our previous conversation about vampires, and you're afraid to revisit that time in the alleyway-" Alfred looked further away at this, "-but you have absolutely no fear to be in the same room with me or to recognise that I'm a vampire."

Arthur gave Alfred a clear view of his fangs but Alfred only scowled at them.

"I just don't understand you," Arthur mumbled.

Alfred gave him a thoughtful expression.

"Is that what you mean about us not knowing each other?"

Arthur looked up in surprise at this before furrowing his brows and looking away, "A little. But there are still a lot of other things we don't know about each other either. I could just be old-fashioned, but I always thought partners should sort those sorts of things out before… moving on… More than likely though, I'm just expecting you be someone you're not. You're different than most people I've been in a relationship with."

"Well, it's all very simple to me," Alfred said suddenly, "The whole 'afraid of vampires' thing." Arthur glanced up at him and Alfred flashed him a big smile. "I'm only afraid of vampires in theory. Theoretical vampires are an unknown. You're not scary 'cause I know you."

Arthur might have blushed if he'd eaten more recently. Of course, the fond look was wiped clean off his face when Alfred suddenly added off-topic,

"I think I found what was wrong with your oven," he said, pulling out a large charred corpse, "Did you have a cat?"

"No…" Arthur paled.

"Do you want one?" Alfred offered the large charcoal body.

"_NO! _Take it outside!"


	13. Chapter 13

**((Warning, this chapter is 90% sex. It's really long and not written very well because for some reason I had difficulty writing this particular scene- probably because there were like 3 or 4 emotions that I tried to get across and everything just became so jumbled. So long story short, Arthur is horny, Alfred is worried, but also putting a lot of trust in Arthur, and Alfred is also overly sentimental. There. Now it makes sense.))**

The sun had long since set, and with Alfred sent away to one of the guest rooms- to which he bitched and complained about seemingly without end- Arthur could finally find some peace and quiet on his own.

As much as he liked Alfred, the boy could really wear down his patience after a while. And with all the unnecessary physical contact, he was really starting to wear down his patience as a _man_.

Finally alone in his room, Arthur shut the door softly behind him and crossed the room, starting his nightly routine. He double-checked that his curtains were fully closed, opened his closet, changed into his night clothes and disposed of his day clothes, closed the closet door firmly- as the old doors had a tendency to not click fully into place- and strode over to his bed.

He paused, however, beside it- not yet pulling back the covers and settling himself beneath them as he usually would. Realizing what he'd done, he rolled his eyes and groaned. Really, this boy had him far too worked up. He pulled back the covers.

And yet…

Arthur groaned again. There was no way he was going to get to sleep now that the train of thought had crossed his mind. He made his way over to one of the tables he had in his room- this one had a single rose in a vase- and opened the drawer.

* * *

Alfred rolled around on the huge bed. He wasn't sleeping and he wasn't going to- not yet anyway. He still had business to finish with Arthur.

He rolled over again. He wondered if it had been enough time yet. He checked his phone. It had only been three minutes. Drat…

Alfred rolled onto his stomach, letting his head sink comfortably into the soft mattress- honestly, there was no way this thing was two hundred years old. Arthur had to have replaced them at some point.

Alfred buried his face into the duvet, wondering if he could pick up any scent of the vampire. He was sorrowfully disappointed as the covers only smelled like fabric and… roses? Alfred sniffed again. Yep, roses. It seemed just like Arthur though, so he inhaled again, trying to picture him alone in his bed.

Alfred groaned, checking his phone. Four minutes. That was enough time, right? Alfred decided it was and flung himself from the bed, leaving the covers tangled in an awful mess for Arthur to clean up later.

He made his way down the hall towards the master bedroom- where Arthur slept. He paused outside the door, suddenly and irritatingly nervous. He shook the feeling away and knocked on the door before he had time to fully process it.

There was a pause and after what seemed like forever, Alfred heard Arthur call back,

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?"

There was another pause, and after a moment Alfred slowly turned the door handle, waiting for Arthur to protest. When he didn't, Alfred opened the door all the way and peered inside.

Arthur was lying rather stiffly in the centre of the bed glaring back at Alfred with possibly the most frustrated expression he'd ever seen.

"What do you want, Alfred?"

Alfred didn't say anything as he closed the door gently behind him and walked over to the side of the bed and leaned in.

The two stared at each other for a moment, Alfred leaned in just a bit more and Arthur sighed.

"I probably should have realized your intentions of coming here this weekend."

"If you don't want to, I'll leave you alone."

Arthur didn't answer at first, his eyes darted away from Alfred's but his head didn't move. Finally Arthur sighed.

"I didn't say that I didn't."

Arthur sat up as Alfred crawled onto the bed. Alfred nearly laughed when he saw what was under Arthur's pyjama pants.

"I didn't realize old men got boners so easily," he snickered, gesturing to the erection that Arthur had had long before Alfred walked in.

Arthur pinched at Alfred's skin, making the other yelp and jump back.

"Don't," he warned, "I happen to have been previously occupied before you came in."

Alfred let that sink in a minute before a smirk spread across his lips.

"I got under your skin a bit today, huh?" Alfred asked, leaning back in, placing one of his hands on Arthur's hip.

"Don't sound so cocky. It happens to have been a while since I last…" Arthur trailed off before adding, "…and the timing of your visit certainly did not help."

Alfred chuckled. He leaned in to kiss Arthur firmly on the mouth, his other hand snaking around his neck to pull him closer. He just barely felt the graze of teeth before Arthur pulled back and warned,

"Mind the fangs."

Alfred pulled their mouths together again, and throwing caution to the wind, ran his tongue along Arthur's teeth and fangs especially. Feeling them up close, they were a lot shorter than they looked. They weren't thin and sharp like he had imagined them to be, but more like an elongated canine with a bit more of a sharp edge. But Alfred could run his tongue along the edge of it without pain or fear of cutting himself on it. And so he did.

Alfred could almost feel Arthur smirk at this. Arthur leaned forward, readjusting himself slightly to do so, and pressed his own tongue against Alfred's. He took Alfred's willingness as permission and nipped lightly at Alfred's lips with his regular teeth.

Alfred responded by running his hands down Arthur's sides and pulling his hips closer to his own. Arthur almost chuckled. Without breaking the kiss he readjusted them and pressed Alfred down into the mattress.

Alfred froze.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" he asked when Arthur pulled back.

"Don't worry, love, I won't harm you."

Alfred stared back afraid. His heart was still pounding from before, but he wondered if Arthur could pick up the slight shift from arousal to fear. He could.

Arthur settled back, sitting on Alfred's hips instead of leaning over him. The fear greatly reduced, but it was still there.

"I told you before; you're completely safe in my presence. You don't need to be afraid," Arthur then added with a chuckle, "I don't bite."

Alfred shifted, looking away from Arthur's face. A million thoughts and scenarios crossed his mind at once and he struggled to push them all away just in order to reply,

"I trust you."

Arthur nodded and leaned back down, giving Alfred a soft kiss on the lips before adding another to his cheek, his jaw, and then his collar- pointedly avoiding his neck. Alfred squirmed slightly as Arthur began undressing him, starting with the blue superhero t-shirt he was wearing.

Once Alfred's chest was bare, Arthur leaned back and began unbuttoning his pyjama top. Alfred began stirring again, but stilled as several scars came into Alfred's view.

The first was a pale area of skin on the right side of Arthur's neck that Alfred had caught glimpses of before. On his upper left arm there was a thick white scar, and another thinner one on his right forearm. And across his chest was a large bundle of scars which spread out in different directions and appeared to Alfred as a sun just starting to discharge large whips of heat in its death throes.

Arthur noticed Alfred's gaze and smiled half-heartedly.

"Hunters mostly," he explained, leaning back down to kiss Alfred gently. Alfred pointedly averted his gaze from the scars and kissed back, nervously motioning for Arthur to continue.

Arthur slid his hands down Alfred's sides and settled them on the human's legs. Alfred's back twitched into a short-lived arch at the touch. Arthur kissed at Alfred's jaw and went in for a kiss on his neck before stopping himself.

"It's alright," Alfred reassured, "I'm fine."

Arthur frowned a bit but complied anyway, kissing and licking at Alfred's neck as his hands did… other work. Alfred let out a little gasping moan at being palmed at, squirming at the touch. Arthur seemed to favour Alfred's neck, for when he pulled back to kiss Alfred on the lips as he undid his trousers, he went right back to his neck after the short kiss. Alfred didn't really mind, except that his neck was starting to tingle with oversensitivity.

Arthur seemed to realize this and moved his mouth to another spot this one further back and lower down on his neck. At the same time, Alfred realized that the last remnants of his clothes were being dragged off him- boxers and all.

Alfred didn't have time to shiver at the sudden cold before Arthur grabbed him and gave him a quick pump- to which Alfred responded with an unconscious thrust into his hand. Alfred's mind was not so dazed, however, to not realize just how cold Arthur was.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, Arthur! Your hand is freezing!" he cried out. Arthur chuckled, giving Alfred another pump- to which Alfred responded the same as before.

"Sorry, slightly lower body temperature- it really becomes noticeable in these situations," he kissed Alfred's neck, "You feel quite warm though…"

Alfred moaned as Arthur started pumping him slowly, his hips reaching up to meet the hand with slow thrusts. Arthur nipped at the over-sensitized skin at Alfred's neck and he whimpered. Arthur moved to his collarbone and Alfred sped up his thrusts, trying to encourage Arthur to move faster.

Alfred felt completely vulnerable like this- pinned against the bed and desperate for the vampire's touch, even if he dreaded what would come next.

Arthur continued on with a cool and distinctly _wet_ finger against his entrance. Alfred noticed the bottle of lube that Arthur had- although from _where_ and _when _exactly he had produced it, he had no idea. Alfred whimpered and he could feel his heart rate increasing with each passing moment.

Arthur looked up to meet Alfred's panicked gaze, but didn't stop rubbing his wet finger against him.

"Have you ever bottomed before?" Arthur asked. Alfred gulped.

"No…" he lied.

Arthur used his other hands to rub what Alfred think was meant to be _soothing_ circles on his hips and abdomen. Alfred's breathing picked up again when Arthur's finger applied just a bit more pressure.

"Don't tense up," Arthur warned, "It may seem counter-productive, but if you press against it this will go a lot easier."

Alfred did as he was told as just as quickly he could feel the tip of Arthur's finger slip into him. Alfred gasped and tried not to tense up again, but if he were perfectly honest… it wasn't all that unpleasant.

Arthur's mouth was on his jaw again, kissing soothingly and whispering something in Alfred's ear that he just barely caught the end of.

"-not so bad. You're alright, love. You're doing fine."

Alfred whimpered again, half hoping Arthur would stop and switch their positions and half hoping that by the end of this Arthur wouldn't think he was a complete wuss.

Arthur's finger twitched and Alfred whimpered as it started thrusting slowly in and out of him. The feeling itself wasn't all too pleasurable, but there was something about the intimacy of it that made Alfred's cock twitch and he could just feel something dribble out of it and roll slowly down the side.

Alfred let out a tense sigh as his head started to clear itself of panic and he could finally focus again. He looked up at Arthur who was hovering over him with soft kisses and encouragements as his finger continued its work.

At this point, Alfred also realized his hands were clenched into fists gripping the sheets below him. He took a moment to become fully aware of the exact position of his body. He released his hands from the sheets, but let them lie there for a moment longer. His legs were spread just wide enough for Arthur to be sitting between them but his knees were tightly pressed against Arthur's body. He relaxed them and let Arthur readjust himself over him.

Arthur noticed the change and gave Alfred a quick once-over before moving on, planting a gentle kiss on Alfred's lips and touching another finger to his ass.

"Relax, love," Arthur scolded gently when Alfred tensed up again. Arthur pressed the finger in. There was a twinge of discomfort within Alfred. It was just barely noticeable, but it only increased when Arthur scissored his fingers and pulled them back slightly.

Alfred's earlier feeling of intimacy waned some and the fear started to return. Arthur noticed this and, knowing that small touches were no longer going to be a comfort to him, started pumping Alfred's cock slowly once more.

Alfred moaned and gave a half-hearted thrust into Arthur's hand- his discomfort at being stretched momentarily forgotten.

Arthur took this opportunity to slip the third finger inside. Alfred winced when he realized what had happened, but his mind was elsewhere- mainly on Arthur's _other_ hand.

Arthur kept pumping as his fingers kept thrusting and twisting inside Alfred. Alfred would whimper every once and a while but other than that was completely silent.

Alfred tried to focus on the _absolutely wonderful_ things Arthur was doing to this cock. Now and then he'd thrust up, momentarily forgetting that when he came back down he'd only be impaling himself deeper on Arthur's fingers.

To be honest, Alfred was starting to forget about Arthur's fingers entirely- the discomfort had all but vanished and he was far more preoccupied with the more intense feeling of Arthur toying with his head.

Suddenly Arthur's fingers vanished and Alfred tensed up at the strange feeling. Arthur's hand disappeared as well and Alfred lifted his head just in time to see Arthur wriggling out of his pyjama bottoms. Alfred gulped when he realized what was happening.

Once Arthur's pants were gone, Alfred gave Arthur's erection a nervous once-over. He was average-enough sized, nothing to worry about. Of course that didn't stop Alfred from worrying anyway.

Alfred squirmed, pressing his legs safely back together with the room Arthur had now given him. Arthur touched them lightly.

"Alfred," he scolded gently, gesturing for him to open his legs again.

Alfred swallowed thickly, squirming slightly again before relaxing his legs and allowing Arthur to press them open gently.

"I trust you," Alfred all but whispered.

Arthur grinned, "So you do speak. I was starting to get worried I'd broken you," he chuckled.

Alfred didn't respond and Arthur frowned.

"You'll be fine, love," he reassured, although Alfred could hear the absolutely _desperate_ desire in his voice. He leaned back over Alfred.

Alfred forced himself to swallow a few times while he watched Arthur greedily pump himself a few times with the lube, slowly moving his hips closer to Alfred's.

Arthur's head brushed against him and Alfred could feel his face become void of blood as he paled. He wondered if it was too late to back down.

Arthur pushed himself more firmly against Alfred. Alfred panicked, trying to squirm away but Arthur held him there and brought them close again.

"W-wait!" Alfred cried out, testing the effect of the words. Arthur paused, looking up at him with confused eyes. Alfred looked absolutely panicked, but let out several shaky breaths before calming down a bit.

Alfred felt a hand brush against his cheek and he glanced up just in time to see Arthur resting his forehead against his own. Arthur gently ran his thumb against his cheek, trying to soothe him- although Alfred could still easily see the need growing in his eyes.

"You'll be alright, love. It won't hurt, I promise."

Alfred felt his throat clench. He quickly turned his head to the side so Arthur wouldn't see his eyes starting to water. He took a moment to calm himself again, still not turning to face the vampire.

"Okay," he finally muttered- although the sound was course and dry.

Arthur pressed a wet and needy kiss on Alfred's jaw and Alfred knew this would be the last time they'd be stopping.

Arthur gave Alfred a few slow strokes as he lined himself up. Alfred welcomed the distraction but couldn't tear the lingering fear away. _I trust him, I trust him, I trust him_, Alfred chanted to himself when Arthur started pressing onward.

"Don't tense up," was Alfred's only warning before Arthur's head forced its way inside. Alfred let out something between a gasp and a groan then followed by a whimper. Despite Arthur's warning, he tensed and immediately felt pain. He forced himself to relax and press against the intrusion like he'd been told and the pain diminished, leaving only a slight stretch.

Arthur leaned forward and kissed Alfred softly on the lips as he pressed himself a little more firmly inside. This wasn't as bad as the initial penetration and Alfred allowed Arthur to sink into him until their legs were pressed together.

Despite what Alfred expected, Arthur didn't move while he waited for Alfred to adjust. Despite the colder body temperature, Alfred noticed just how warm Arthur felt against- and _inside_\- him. It wasn't even all that uncomfortable once he let the fear settle. Alfred let out a shaky sigh and let his whole body relax- his limbs suddenly feeling like pudding melting against Arthur's body. This wasn't so bad…

Arthur's lips were back on his throat, licking and kissing and mouthing short words into Alfred's skin. He pulled his hips back slowly- and Alfred could feel the other shaking in effort to control his movements- and Alfred felt his muscles twitch at the strange sensation.

Arthur nipped at Alfred's throat as he pressed back inside slowly. He pulled back again- not as slow as before- and pressed back in. After a few shaky thrusts he settled on a slow rhythm.

It felt good. Alfred had to admit that. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was intimate, and Alfred was positive he'd never felt this way during sex before.

Something was brushed against inside him and his mind rang with pleasure. He found himself clinging to Arthur and meeting his thrusts with eagerness. Their breathing was ragged and Alfred gasped when Arthur sucked on the rim of his ear.

Alfred's cock was pulsing with want and precum dribbled down the side of it. Arthur was moaning into Alfred's neck and reached to grab it as they drew closer to their ends.

Alfred didn't last long after Arthur gripped him. He cried out as his body tensed, then relaxed. Arthur gave a few more desperate thrusts before he too finished inside him and braced his weight on his arms.

Neither of them said a word as Arthur pulled out of him and curled up next to Alfred- not bothering to clean up after them. Alfred could feel himself drifting off into sleep and he that Arthur was nearly there already. He allowed his head to roll onto Arthur's as he started to fall asleep.

_This feels nice,_ was the last semi-coherent thought that crossed his mind before he fell into a deep slumber.


	14. (AN) Good News and Bad News

This isn't an update, and I've got good news and bad news.

The bad news is that this story is really bad because I broke several major rules of writing, and I don't think it's salvageable from this point on. Meaning, this story is going to be discontinued.

BUT! There is good news. I have a rule, that I always finish the stories I start- one way or another. Since I have such a love for this story (not what I wrote, heavens no) and I really want to be able to get this story out with everything it could be- and not just what it has to be- I'm going to rewrite this story. I'm going to fix a lot of things I did wrong (mainly the god-awful cliched writing and all the rule-breaking) and hopefully I can turn this into the story I had envisioned instead of what came out.

So there you have it. I will update this story with a link to the new one once I get it started and I make sure it's not complete crap (I might write 5 or so chapters first- just to be sure).

* * *

Now the rest of this is just me rambling, so feel free to skip it if you don't care to hear about some of my inspiration for this story and my obsession with vampires.

* * *

When I first had this story idea, it wasn't actually USUK. Or it _was_, but that wasn't what I was focused on. I had a vague idea for a vampire story and I had a vague idea of what I wanted, but in the beginning I wasn't really even thinking about the story- I was thinking about the backstory (which you guys never got to because I realized this was complete crap before I got that far...). I had an idea for a vampire!Arthur and a slightly troubled Alfred, but I never even thought about _their_ story. Like a lot of my stories, most of it came to me when I was (very desperately) trying to fall asleep. I envisioned these two curled up together on a bed and asking each other questions about their lives (this is very strangely how a lot of my stories get their start, and I don't really know if that's weird or not). Obviously, this isn't exactly something I'd put in the actual story, but it's a way for me to visualize both of their pasts and what effect it has on their relationship in the present.

But with most of my stories, this phase comes after I've thought up the basics of the story- sometimes I don't get to the backstory until the very end of my planning phase when I'm rushing to make everything fit together seamlessly. But in this story, it came first. Particularly Arthur's long and rather extensive history. I imagined Alfred asking Arthur these questions, and laughing at the answers he got. Often these conversations between the two were lighthearted and I almost wished I could put them in the story. But sometimes their talks took a darker turn- Alfred would ask a question and Arthur's answer would bring something from Alfred's past to the surface. These were the conversations that I decided needed to be worked into the story somehow. They were never how I first imagined them, I had to get creative and find excuses for the topics to be brought up- and even more excuses for them to be brought up _when_ they needed to be brought up. For example, a particular conversation (which was a long, _long_ way away in this story) between Alfred and Arthur when they're visiting... uh... someone? somewhere? (How to still talk, but not spoil things...?) But anyway, I needed some conflict between the two during this portion of the story, and I decided to go for broke and put in the worst possible argument these two could have- and it went over well. It not only brought that conflict that I needed, but it also left some lingering tension that I could use later. Of course, I never wrote most of this down. I never write it down, and I probably should...

If you can't tell by now, I was really, _really_ excited about this project when I first started- and I still am, but my epic failure to bring it to life has somewhat diminished my excitement. I hope when I rewrite this (and hopefully it won't just turn out decent, but good) my excitement will return.

I had also been planning to write a prequel to this (which would be titled "Virgin Blood") which would go into depths of some parts of Arthur's past. But I really don't know if I will anymore. If the rewrite of this goes well, I might reconsider the prequel, but as of now I don't think it's on the table (that and I have half a dozen other projects I've been jumping at the bit to get started. Particularly a certain dark Cardverse AU that I may or may not already have 10 chapters done of...).

But, as you can see, I am still excited for this project- even if other projects have taken my full attention and love- but I do intend to redo this. I will right my wrongs and make this the story that I had envisioned- the one that deserved to be written instead of this dravel.


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